Seiga Kaku's Wonderful Wizardry Adventure
by Howdoyoudonames
Summary: A zombie, a Horcrux, and an immortal sit down for tea. No this is not a joke.
1. Chapter 1

A zombie, Horcrux, and an immortal sit down for tea. No, that was not the start of some poorly fashioned joke, but rather the first _proper_ meeting with someone that, since the incident which left Seiga Kaku and her Jiang Shi Yoshika Miyako cast out into the modern world, genuinely interested her. After causing an incident so horrible and destructive, the devils, ghosts, and other various mythical beings in Gensokyo had unanimously decided that Seiga needed to get out of their haven before she destroyed it. After a series of events including yet another fight with a Kishin after her head, two bank robberies, and a run in with Wizards claiming her to be a Dark Lady after one look at her wonderful zombie underling, and, worst of all, house shopping, Seiga found herself sitting down with a living soul jar for tea.

"Uh Miss Kaku," started the boy.

"Please, call me Seiga," replied the blue-haired immortal.

"Uh, then, Miss Seiga. Why exactly did you ask to have me work for you?" asked the boy.

"Well Harry," began Seiga, "You see, Yoshika here has a bit of a health problem with her joints, and as such can't really move around well. There's a lot of work I need to do, and I felt it would be nice to have a helping hand around. When I was speaking with your Aunt Petunia, she mentioned that you were available, and needed some good, hard work. As such, I suggested that you work for me, do some odd jobs for me, and in return I give her some money," Seiga claimed. She was leaving out a few crucial details, such as her _actual_ motivation, but the boy seemed satisfied with the response. As a centuries old hermit, and thus a being hunted very often by youkai or kishin, her sensory and masking magical abilities were ridiculously high. It was child's play for her to notice the wards over the neighboring house, and, under the pretense of wanting to be a kind neighbor, she visited Number Four, Privet Drive with the gift of food.

Now, if Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were one thing, it was normal. This meant that no, they did not violently abuse children, and no, they did not suddenly and rudely throw ought neighbors offering food, and no, they were not evil monstrosities in the flesh. In fact, the Dursleys were actually rather pleasant people (on the outside at least), and as such Seiga quickly became a friendly acquaintance to Petunia, and it was not peculiar to see her over for tea. Dudley and Harry usually were either out with friends or working in the garden during this time, but nevertheless they at least knew that their blue-haired neighbor came over for tea often. It was during one such visit that Seiga, being an expert on matters involving immortality and pseudo-immortality, noticed that Harry was, in fact, a walking, breathing phylactery of sorts. Being that Seiga was the kind of person who would latch on to anything remotely interesting, and that Privet Drive was a rather bland place, she immediately took an actue interest in the black haired boy, and, after carefully bringing the subject up, managed to secure the current arrangement. It would be interesting to see who thought it would be a good idea to leave, unprotected, a piece of their soul in a young boy in the middle of a random, non-magical suburb, and who would set up wards protecting someone else's Horcrux.

Harry, of course, was oblivious to all of this and merely poured another cup of tea for Yoshika, disguised by magics so that she resembled a sickly person rather than the Jiang Shi she was, and sitting down. The trio sat there, silently drinking tea for some time. Harry was intimidated by his new neighbors. Yoshika was nice, but something seemed… _off_ about her, something that Harry couldn't explain. Seiga, on the other hand, simply gave off an aura of knowledge and wisdom, kind of like one of those old master martial artists. Harry simply couldn't help but feel nervous at the extended silence.

"So, Harry, are there any chores you are good at in particular," Seiga said, startling the boy.

"Umm… I make food a lot, and sometimes I help in the garden. Also, I clean a little bit," replied Harry. Seiga nodded.

"Good. You've already shown that you make passable tea, so what we shall do is that, after your schooling ends for the day on weekdays, you shall come here and clean the ground floor every day. Following that, you will maintain my garden. I would also like it if you cooked dinner at least two days out of the five. Should you wish, you may return to your home during any space in time you do not have work, or stay here until dinner is served. You may, of course, eat dinner with us if you cook it. In return, I will help you with any difficulties you are having in your studies and give money to your aunt who may give you a portion should she choose. Is this acceptable," said Seiga. Harry was too intimidated by the woman to do anything but nod silently. Seiga smiled, and continued to enjoy her tea silently. The rest of the meeting passed by without incident, and Harry left afterwards. Yoshika lumbered over to her room, and Seiga retired to the upper floor, planning on how to figure out whose soul was in Harry.

* * *

><p>Harry found that he rather enjoyed his time working at Number 3 Privet Drive. His home was not exactly the most welcoming of places, and working in a house meant that Dudley couldn't bring his gang over to bother him. Additionally, the work itself wasn't too bad. Seiga didn't give him too much to clean, as the ground floor was rather easy to clean, and he wasn't allowed upstairs so he didn't have to clean that. Plus, the garden was not too difficult to maintain and he enjoyed gardening anyways so it wasn't a chore at all. Lastly, he got to eat as much as he wanted when he cooked for Seiga and Yoshika, so he always was full after he cooked dinner for them. It became a regular part of his day. First he went to school, trying just enough to pass, but not quite enough to outshine Dudley, then off to Seiga's home to work, then dinner, and finally he was allowed to go home. His aunt and uncle didn't bother him after he worked for Seiga, probably because if they overworked him Seiga would notice and would become suspicious, breaking their image of 'pleasant, normal people' in her eyes. Naturally, he did work for them on weekends and holidays, but it was a significantly lower amount than before Seiga moved in. The best part, however, was learning from Seiga and Yoshika.<p>

Yoshika didn't actually teach him much, mostly because it was hard for her to speak. Harry wasn't sure exactly what it was, but apparently Yoshika had a rare disease that left her motor skills very very bad. She had difficulty moving, as if her joints couldn't bend properly. If that wasn't all, she was also incredibly forgetful, even of the most basic things like Harry's name. When Harry found out that Yoshika was never allowed outside, he was worried that it might be because Seiga was like the Dursleys, but he realized that it was almost purely out of concern for her safety that Yoshika was confined to the home. She simply was not able to move well enough or remember enough to properly function alone outside. Despite all of this, Harry knew Yoshika was smart. She did, after all, help him whenever he needed help with something he read, no matter what it was. Her vocabulary was immense, and she often used words even Seiga didn't know. Sometimes Yoshika would even spout lines of poetry, seemingly created on the spot. Harry once had to write a poem for school once, and to say that he was pants at it was quite an understatement. The work he had produced wasn't even up to the level that it could be called shoddy. The fact that Yoshika came up with poems just as easily as he could breathe impressed Harry a lot.

While Yoshika's intelligence was more of a specific area, and not easily apparent, Seiga's was more like the kind you'd find in an encyclopedia, but to a greater degree. No matter what subject Harry brought up that he wanted to know about, from mythology to science, Seiga knew at the very least something on it. Seiga was a veritable fount of knowledge, and she made sure that Harry, regardless of his grades, knew enough to be at the top of his class. Harry genuinely enjoyed listening to Seiga lecture, as she always managed to make everything sound interesting. History was woven into tales so amazing, it was as if they were taken straight out of movies or books, myths were recited so well you could hardly tell them false, science was explained so thoroughly that Harry walked out genuinely understanding how that portion of the world worked. Seiga was clearly far, _far_ superior to any of his teachers. The end result of this was something that could be expected: with the lack of any _real_ parental figures, thanks to the fact that his parents were dead and his aunt and uncle weren't very kind to Harry, Seiga and Yoshika essentially became the figurse he looked up to, and he strived for their praise and acknowledgement.

"So Harry, what myth do you want to hear today?" asked Seiga.

"Tell me more about that one place in Japan," said Harry.

"Gensokyo?" asked Seiga. An odd expression came across her face, one that Harry could not decipher.

"Yes, that one," said Harry. Seiga nodded. She had mentioned her former place of residence in passing while telling other myths, and Harry found it rather interesting.

"All right. This is a recent myth, and blurs the line between mythology and the stories you hear nowadays that aren't really myths, but sound just the same. As you may remember, Gensokyo, or the "Land of Fantasy" in English, is an area located near the Yatsugatake Mountains in Japan. Historically, Gensokyo was a desolate region haunted by many different kinds of youkai. There were many different forays done by exorcists of various kinds, but ultimately they did little to quell the supernatural force there. Ultimately, in roughly 1885 AD, due to various reasons, a youkai named Yukari Yakumo and a Hakurei shrine maiden sealed off Gensokyo from the outside world, youkai and all. Remember that youkai and gods need some type of belief in them, usually fear or faith respectively, in order to exist. Without it they "die", although not literally. Due to the spiritual nature of the land at Gensokyo, it was a prime candidate for a sanctuary from the lack of faith in the modern world. As such, many gods and youkai migrated to the land. Naturally, you have the pinnacle of humanity's hopes and fears loaded into a small area, so there are some conflicts," said Seiga. Harry nodded, enraptured by the tale of this place.

"Umm… can you tell me more about that Yakumo person?" asked Harry.

"Very well. Yukari was an exceptionally powerful youkai. Her abilities as a youkai allowed her to manipulate the "boundaries" between things. While there are obvious uses physically, like teleportation or shrinking and growing things, there are even more applications, as her abilities stretched to nonphysical boundaries as well. The boundary between life and death, reality and fantasy, humans and youkai, all were within the palm of her hands, and she knew how to use it," recounted Seiga.

"If she is so powerful, why doesn't she just take over the world?" asked Harry.

Seiga laughed. "She may be strong, but she hardly is the strongest around. No, there are many people who could stand up to her might, and others that she didn't dare harm. The Hakurei shrine maidens were too crucial in the existence of her Gensokyo for her to dare to harm them, so they could stop her. The Yamaxanadu simply had Authority. Not just authority like the Prime Minister, but Authority. You simply did not stand against her, regardless of power. Her words carried far, far too much weight behind them. Yukari was no exception. Another example was the Princess of the Moon, Kaguya. She had the ability to manipulate Eternity. While that concept is rather difficult to define, there was one thing that was known for certain: eternity is something without boundaries. Without any boundaries to manipulate, Yukari couldn't use her powers on the Princess. Yet another being, known as the "Sleeping Terror" of Gensokyo, simply had too much raw power for Yukari to fight against without coming out harmed. In short, yes, she is powerful, but if she were to make any moves that were _too_ drastic, there would be people who could stop her. Not with ease, or harm, but she could be stopped," recounted Seiga.

"What's a Yamaxanadu?" asked Harry.

"_The_ Yamaxanadu, Harry, not _a_. While there are many different Yamas, each one has a title. Yamaxanadu means the Yama of Paradise, the Yama specifically in charge of Gensokyo. The Yamaxanadu, Eiki Shiki, is the person who judges where souls go after they die in Gensokyo. Her ability is rather simple: to declare, unanimously, without argument, whether something is 'black' or 'white'. There are other things she can do, mostly due to her position, but they aren't significant. She was known as someone who was rather kind hearted, and she went out of her way to try and get people to accumulate as much good karma and repent their sins before they died so she didn't have to send them to hell," said Seiga. This discussion continued for a long time, Harry asking about various residents of Gensokyo and Seiga answering, much like the majority of their lessons. Ultimately, it was time for dinner and Harry moved to cook it, while Seiga retreated to Yoshika's room for some time.

* * *

><p>When Harry did not show up for his usual day at Number 3 Privet Drive, Seiga was annoyed. When he refused to do so for two days, she was angry. On the third day, she was positively livid. She quickly made her way next door and knocked upon the door repeatedly. When the Dursleys failed to answer, she swiftly returned to her home. She removed her hairpin, the one which allowed her to use her ability. She touched it to the floor, and the ground opened. She moved through it, the pin constantly touching in front of her, and ultimately opening into the cupboard in Number 4, Privet Drive. She opened the door, finding the house empty and the floor strewn with various letters. Picking one up, she found it addressed to Harry. She swiftly opened it and scanned the contents.<p>

_So Harry is a wizard. Nothing new. What is new, however, is this society. The Dursleys most likely did not react well to this, understandable I suppose. However, I must find Harry. Something like this is far too interesting… _Seiga thought. She swiftly exited the house, closing the hole behind her. Next, she moved to her study, and cast a spell. She had previously setup a method for her to track Harry should he go missing, as she suspected that he was, at least to the person that he was a Horcrux for, important, and thus it would be likely that in the future he was moved.

"Yoshika! We are going out!" said Seiga.

"Yes Master," called back Yoshika. Seiga quickly cast magic to keep her from being visible, and then followed that up with a spell on Yoshika to do the same. Then she and Yoshika flew to the location Harry was.

When they arrived, Seiga noticed that the door had been kicked down.

"Yoshika, guard," ordered the blue-haired woman. Yoshika silently took up position outside the door, intending to keep any intruders from breaking in. Seiga swiftly entered, and found a most peculiar sight. Dudley with a pig's tail, Vernon and Petunia freaking out, a large man towering above them, and finally, Harry, simply confused.

"_What_ exactly is going on here?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Here seems to be a good stopping point. Hello, I'm Howdoyoudonames. This is the first multichaptered fanfiction I'm intending to write. As I have a fairly decent knowledge of Harry Potter's universe, and a somewhat average knowledge of the Touhou universe, I figured I had enough to at least try to cross them over. Additionally, I just flat out like them both. This is modeled after those generic "Mysterious mentor helps Harry out!" fanfiction, but I intend to take it in a different direction, as my character choice should show. Anyways, this is just the intro chapter. Setup and all, trying to get Harry and Seiga's relationship clear. Seiga Kaku is one of the few people that I consider in the Touhou universe to be candidates for genuinely _bad people. _This should be quite clear in the setting: she managed to get kicked out of Gensokyo, where causing incidents like _preventing the sun from shining_ or _trying to revive a being that would commit mass murder, while also causing winter to overstay_ are left with a mere slap on the wrist. In case you didn't notice, both of these incidents had potential for large loss of life, due to crop failures, generally unsafe conditions, or a giant killer tree reviving. So there is clearly the fact there that Seiga isn't exactly nice. Additionally, we're talking about someone who has earned her title of Wicked Hermit. So yeah, Seiga isn't going to be the cliché person who helps Harry out and has his best interests at heart. She clearly has her own agenda and Harry is merely a method to push it forward. Yoshika is just her cute and rotten underling.**

**I think most of you are familiar with Harry Potter, though you guys may not be so much with Touhou. I'd recommend looking up things you don't understand about either canon. I think I'll have any vital information covered in story or in ANs but I can't be sure. It's hard for someone like me to explain something from the ground up, I just naturally assume you have some sort of basic knowledge. Seiga is a hermit, which is essentially a religious person so religious they became immortal. The specific type of hermit Seiga is is known as a "Wicked Hermit", which is a type of hermit that deliberately fakes their death and severs ties with the people they know to become a hermit. They are frequently hunted down by youkai, which is a generic term for supernatural beings, as well as something known as 'kishin'. As such, she has to be good at magic that hides or locates to survive, and, being an immortal who became one through a method she had to research, she also knows about the different methods of immortality, and so it makes sense she knows what a horcrux is and how to realize what one is.**

**Thirdly, about strength. Seiga isn't going to roflstomp everyone in this fanfic. I have carefully tried to gauge how strong HP wizards are compared to Touhou characters. Firstly, I have to make it clear. There are two types of magic users in the Touhou universe, the Magicians (who are classed under youkai) and the human magicians (who are not). Wizards lean towards the latter. I have decided upon the following: Nicholas Flamel is probably the closest on scale to Seiga, being an immortal who is a few centuries old (though reliant on the Elixir of Life). I judge him to be roughly equal to Patchouli Knowledge, as they are both centuries old magicians of a sort, and any advantage Patchouli may have due to being nonhuman are offset by her illnesses. Patchouli is a Stage 4 boss, and while stages aren't the most reliable methods of determining strength, it's all I got. Seiga is also Stage 4, and thus I judge her to be _roughly_ at Nicolas Flamel's level. This is never touched on in the books, but it can be assumed that Dumbledore, being both someone who advises Nicolas on his safety, and the one declared as the 'strongest wizard' of the time period, is near to/greater than Nicolas. Voldemort is on the same level as Dumbledore. In short, in my opinion at least, Seiga and Dumbledore and Voldemort are roughly the same level of overall capabilities, but with different specializations. I don't know if you guys agree or not, but I think I have enough logic behind my actions to go with it.**

**Harry, by the way, is just as, and maybe even more important to the fiction than Seiga. Although Seiga is the catalyst for many events that don't occur in canon, Harry is the easiest way to see the effect of these, so a large portion of the story will focus on him. Don't worry, there will be scenes from her point of view as well. **

**Anyways, I'm not confident on this fanficton's quality, and while I have a pretty solid idea on where I want to go with this fanfiction, I have a lot of room to work in subplots and such, so I'd appreciate feedback on this fanfic much more than my others. Thank you for reading, and have a nice day, or night.**


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone's eyes turned to the blue-haired hermit. Seiga, wet and quite irritated, simply took in the scene. The large man clearly had done something to frighten the Dursleys. Seiga noticed the twisted up gun on the ground and quickly realized that Vernon had probably pointed it at the large man and he had not taken to it well. The most important thing, however, was that Dudley had a pig tail and Harry wasn't scared. That meant the large man was a wizard, and he was obviously not threating Harry. However, Seiga had long since learned not to assume.

"Harry! Who is this man, and why did you neglect to come over for _three_ whole days?" asked Seiga. Harry quickly responded, not wanting to anger one of the few people he genuinely respected.

"This is Hagrid. He came to check up on me since I didn't respond to a letter I got. Err… the letter was… umm…"

"Yes, yes I've seen it. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, or something along those lines, yes?" dismissed Seiga. "But that's not important right now."

Harry's eyes widened at the quick dismissal of such a groundbreaking secret. "Umm… well Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn't like the letter, and they started coming here in droves and droves, and finally they decided to come here to avoid them altogether. Hagrid then came looking for us and then Vernon threatened him with a gun. Hagrid bent it, it's over there, and the rest isn't really important. I'm a wizard, Seiga, and you believe it so easily?" explained Harry. Seiga leaned in close and whispered into his ear.

"I am not entirely human myself." She then straightened up and spoke in her normal tone, "Either way, this man is here for your letter?" asked Seiga, turning to Hagrid.

"Err… yes," said Harry.

"I see. I am Seiga Kaku, Harry's neighbor. It is a pleasure to meet you," Seiga greeted, extending her arm to Hagrid. He shook it enthusiastically, getting over the shock from her sudden arrival.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rubeus Hagrid, the Gamekeeper and Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts. Me and Harry here are going to go to Diagon Alley, where he can buy his school things tomorrow. Pardon me for asking, but are you a witch?"

"Good. I will be accompanying you then. Your intentions are noble, but of course Harry will be going towards a completely new environment and it would be best to have someone he is familiar with going with him. And no, I am afraid that I am not a witch," stated Seiga. She turned around.

"Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday Harry," she said. With that, she left the building, signaling for Yoshika to follow her at the entrance.

* * *

><p>The next morning found Seiga, Hagrid, and Harry outside the Leaky Cauldron. They quickly stepped inside. It was a rather quiet place on the inside, with very few people. It also gave the impression of being rather tightly knit, especially given that everyone on the inside waved at Hagrid as he entered. The trio made their way to the bartender, an old, bald man who bore a resemblance to a walnut. He smiled a grin, and grabbed a glass. "The usual, Hagrid? And something for the lady perhaps?"<p>

"Fraid not Tom. We're here to get Harry here his supplies," said Hagrid, nudging the boy forward. Tom looked at Harry, blinked, and then looked again.

"By Merlin… by Harry, do you perhaps mean… Harry Potter?" he asked slowly, as if he could not believe his eyes. All motion in the pub ceased for a moment. Seiga, who had mostly decided to glance around, taking in the surroundings, snapped her eyes to Tom, her centuries-old brain whirring to figure out why an old man knew Harry. She did not have to wait long, as the stillness broke as all of the wizards in the pub crowded around Harry.

"It is an honor Mr. Potter,"

"Thank you, thank you so much for what you did,"

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter,"

Seiga realized that, for some odd reason, Harry Potter was well known, very well known. _Every moment he seems to grow more and more intriguing_ she thought to herself. _First he was a Horcrux and now some sort of celebrity?_ _This is too good to let go of_. She was shaken from her thoughts as a pale skinned man made his way forward. No, the man was not what startled her, rather, it was the wraithlike apparition attached to him. Seiga was an expert on immortality, having had to delve into extensive research to find the way to hers. She could recognize a horcrux easily, and the remnants of what remained even more so. The man, whoever he was, was harboring the man who made Harry a horcrux.

Perhaps others would have said something. Reimu would have exorcised the spirit, being the shrine maiden she is. Marisa, thoughtless as usual, would have simply blurted it out, and watched the chaos. Seiga, however, was not either of them. Seiga simply kept her peace. She would find out who the spirit was and what he was planning eventually as he had been introduced as Harry's teacher at Hogwarts, and there was no need to jeopardize it at this stage. It could easily fit into her plans after all, and _oh_ were there plans. Harry was such a boon to her, he could be so useful in so many ways…

After Harry had managed to extricate himself from the crowd and the trio had moved towards the wall which contained the entrance to Diagon Alley, Seiga asked a question to Hagrid. "Hagrid. Are wizards religious?"

Hagrid was surprised at the sudden question and scratched his head with his arm. "Well, not really. Y'see, when a wizard can easily do things like turn water to wine or turn a rock into a rabbit, things like religion really don't matter to them. I don't think I've ever seen a wizard who believed in religion," he said. Seiga nodded. _Perfect. If I can only convert some important figures… like Harry, the Wizarding world would be in my hands._

Despite being abandoned by Toyosatomimi no Miko and her followers, Seiga was still quite devoted to Taosim, and still held it as the superior religion. Her first and foremost goal was to spread it, and to have it soundly defeat every other religion and take its, in her eyes, rightful place as the major religion of the world. Converting the Wizarding World was a huge step towards it, and Seiga wanted to do everything she could to make it happen.

For the first time since leaving Gensokyo, thanks to Harry and his fame, Seiga Kaku had an ambition.

* * *

><p>Unlike Harry, who was gaping at every shop and sight in the alley, Seiga remained focused. She decided to go information digging for Hagrid.<p>

"Hagrid, how is Harry going to pay for his things?" asked Seiga. Harry jumped a little, nodded, a little embarrassed that he forgot such a basic thing.

"Don't worry, Harry's parents left him enough for him to live off of until he can get a job. That's our first stop, by the way the bank. Gringotts is its name, only Wizarding bank in Britain. It's the main reason why Diagon Alley is the center place for British trade in the Wizarding world, all of the other places simply don't have enough people passing by with money," explained Hagrid. "Oh. It's run by goblins, so don't be too surprised."

"Hagrid, won't someone rob it if it's the only bank in England?" asked Harry, curious. The three of them stopped at the large, marble building that was Gringotts bank. Seiga noticed the poem and immediately read it. It was a cautionary poem, essentially warning that robbing Gringotts would have dire consequences. Perhaps it was a good deterrent to most people, but for some people, like Seiga, it was merely a challenge.

"No, Gringotts is far too difficult to break into, no one has ever done it. There are enchantments and creatures in the bank preventing it. Not only that, but it's so deep underground and the caves are a maze, so you'd die of starvation before you found your way out. It's simply not possible," said Hagrid. Seiga merely smirked.

They entered the bank after being waved in by two heavily armed guards. After waiting in line, they managed to get to a clerk. Seiga took his appearance in and swiftly analyzed him. He was small, but didn't give off a strong feeling of magic, and looked rather strong. Given that the goblins outside were armed, she supposed that the Goblin magic was less direct influence based, such as Marisa's magic, and more of some type of indirect magic. Maybe helping metal? She didn't have information. She resolved to grab a large number of books on the subject before they returned.

"Do you have your key?" the goblin drawled lazily. _Most people try to be kind to their customers. _Seiga thought. _Then again, the goblins have a monopoly on the bank, and as such can probably afford to act so rudely… I find them distasteful_.

"Got it right here… wait a minute… err… ah, here it is," Hagrid said, searching around a moleskin pouch for a few moments before finally pulling out a small golden key. The goblin examined it closely before nodding.

"Ah, there's also this letter from Dumbledore. You'll find what you need to know on it," said Hagrid. The goblin scanned the letter and nodded again. He signaled for another goblin to come.

"Griphook here will take you to your vaults. Next!"

Griphook led them through a set of doors leading out of the hall. It lead into a stone cave, lit by torches lined on the wall. Then, the group climbed into a cart, akin to one of those that was used for hauling ores in mines. It suddenly burst forward, and began to navigate the literal maze of tunnels that was Gringotts bank's underground at a speed that left Hagrid nearly losing the contents of his stomach. Harry was enjoying the ride, while Seiga merely sat, unaffected. At some point, Harry asked a question. "Hagrid, what's in the second vault we're going to?"

"I'm not allowed to say," said Hagrid, before returning to his groans and moans. Seiga was interested. The secrecy behind the object was quite high, and she suspected that it was something of great importance, and thus yet again of interest. _I must thank the Yakumo for sending me to England_ she thought. _There are simply far too many interesting things here._

Eventually, the cart stopped. The group climbed out. Facing them was a large door to a vault, circular, and made out of a grayish-black stone. Griphook swiftly unlocked the door and opened it. Smoke billowed out, and when it finally cleared, revealed piles and piles of money. Massive amounts.

"How much money is this?" exclaimed Harry, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of money.

"Enough to get you through Hogwarts and then a few years. Your parents left you a lot of money, so you'll be able to get your feet under you fine. Anyway, the gold ones are galleons, the silver ones are sickles, seventeen make a galleon, and the bronze ones are knuts, twenty nine make a sickle," said Hagrid. He began taking galleons and sickles and putting them in his bag.

"Harry," began Seiga. "Do you mind if I take a small amount? I don't have any Wizard money, and I'd like to buy a few things. I'll pay you back in pounds when we return home, of course."

"You don't need to pay me back! Just take some, you've done too much," said Harry. He liked Seiga far too much, and was perfectly happy he could do something to repay how much she had done for him.

"Thank you, Harry. I will pay you back some day though, trust me," she said. Seiga took a fair amount of galleons, enough to buy what she needed. The group quickly returned to the cart, and it took off to their second destination. Vault 713.

Seiga was surprised to note that the vault had no keyhole. She suspected that it was an additional security measure, built to keep thieves from picking the lock and breaking in. Griphook placed his hand on the door, which melted away as if it was an illusion.

"Don't get any ideas about doing this. If you aren't a Gringotts goblin, you'll get sucked inside and won't have a way out. We only check once every ten years or so," said Griphook. Seiga internally smirked. If that was the best they had, Seiga could easily break out. Hagrid entered the vault and took a small, unassuming package. Indeed, most people would dismiss it immediately, if not for the fact that it was the sole item in the high security vault. Seiga, however, was not most people, and as a hermit, was quite sensitive to the power it was giving off. Whatever it was, Seiga knew it was powerful, very much so.

"Well, off to go shopping then!" said Hagrid. The group returned to the cart and swiftly left Gringotts before Hagrid could empty his stomach on the stone floor.

"Do you two think you'll be all right alone? I'd like to go back to the Leaky Cauldron for a bit, need a bit of a pick me up after that cart ride," said Hagrid. He was visibly ill, so Harry and Seiga quickly told him to be on his way and to make sure he felt better.

"Harry, why don't you go buy your robes. I need to look into a few things," said Seiga. Harry nervously nodded, a bit uncomfortable with the fact that he would be alone. Seiga walked him to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and then she left. She needed to find a bookstore, she simply had too little information to go buy at the moment. It was not long before she entered Flourish and Blotts, the first bookstore she saw on the alley. It was not too crowded, as most of its customers dropped by during the last few weeks of August in order to get their textbooks. Seiga had made a copy of the list, and quickly grabbed the books she needed from there. Afterwards, she browsed the shelves. The bookstore was rather similar to _Suzunaan_, the bookstore in Gensokyo in the vast variety of books. Thankfully, though, there weren't nearly as many books of a… less safe kind there. Seiga didn't know what to think if she found that a store which regularly had children come over had copies of books of the same class as the _Necronomicon_. She grabbed several books on the subject of the various creatures in the Wizarding world, including _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_. She wanted to gauge the strength of these wizards, and what better way than to find and compare common links to youkai she knew. She then moved on to the spell section, grabbing a few books every now and then on subjects she was not familiar with. The one in particular that interested her was Transfiguration – with it she might be able to fix so many of the problems with Yoshika's body. She did not neglect to purchase a few on healing as well. She obviously was not intending to cast the spells in the books – her magic was quite different after all – but it was quite possible for Harry to, eventually, learn and master these spells, and thus help her out immensely by casting them. Plus, even if the spells themselves didn't work, the spells worked for a reason, and if she could find out the reasoning behind them, she might be able to work out how to apply her own magic to reach at least somewhat similar effects. Finally, she found herself in the History of Magic section. The selection was massive, with hundreds of different books on the different periods of time.

"It is not often that I see someone in this section," said a voice behind her. Seiga turned calmly to face him. A blond, fairly long haired man was speaking to her. He gave off a powerful air, not the kind of raw power that a strong youkai gave off, but rather the kind of power one accumulated slowly, by clawing one's way up through society, the power obtained with cunning and shrewdness, the power, though she did not know this, of a true, proper Slytherin.

"I have a student who is far too ignorant in these matters," Seiga replied.

"I see. My name is Lucius Malfoy, it is a pleasure," he said, extending his hand. Seiga shook it.

"Seiga Kaku. Likewise."

"Are you foreign then?" he asked. The conversation, while on the surface appearing to be one of pleasant introduction, was not. Seiga and Lucius Malfoy both noticed a similarity between the each other, a kind of shrewdness, a kind of ambition, a kind of drive. They were both two beings far too similar to each other to simply let be. Lucius was, in essence, the single, most powerful man in the Wizarding World save for Albus Dumbledore. This land was his kingdom, his area of power. Every pureblood family was known for something in particular that made them stand out. The Potters were Transfiguration masters of the highest class, the Bones master necromancers. The Malfoy family, however, were known for their ridiculously sharp intuition. It was this intuition that allowed them to amass such a fortune, this intuition that let them, despite being a relatively new family, climb to the highest levels of Pureblood society.

And this intuition that saw something in Seiga, something that made him fear what she could do. His instincts told him that he could not afford to leave her to her own devices. She had to either join him, or be made obsolete in some way. Either way, Seiga was someone he knew he had to keep an eye on.

Seiga, on the other hand, knew who he was instantly. Wizards loved to gossip, and she did not close her ears. Many people were speaking about the various political actions of Malfoy, so it was not too hard for her to piece together that he was the same one.

"Yes. I recently left Japan," she said. Lucius nodded.

"I see. You'll find that the books in this store on the subject are rather… one sided. If you go down Knockturn Alley, you'll find far more… comprehensive books on the subject," he said, before turning and leaving. It was a small test. He wanted to know what her opinions on the Light/Dark debate were. If she did not go, he would be far more suspicious of her actions. If she did go, she would essentially nonverbally state that she was not _purely_ on the side of the 'good guys', so to speak. That meant he could afford to try and convince her to his side.

Seiga knew that the offer was not purely out of the goodness of his heart, even if she did not know the whole motivation behind it. Thinking silently, she decided to look into it, and left after purchasing the book she wanted, as well as buying an expandable bag to carry the items in. She walked down the alley, before finally finding the turn to Knockturn Alley, and taking it. Immediately, she felt the huge difference in atmosphere. Diagon Alley was bright, crowded, and cheery. Knockturn Alley was dark, dilapidated, and gave of an atmosphere of danger. She strode, perfectly at ease. Many of the hags and other unsavory people of the alley trailed her with their eyes. Her blue hair was quite distinctive, and garnered much attention from the residents of the dark alley. Seiga mentally made a checklist of the shops of interest there. In particular _Dystyl Phaelanges_ and _The Coffin House_. While her primary goal was to spread Taoism, she did have a very important secondary goal in keeping Yoshika up and running, and those two stores were closely linked to Necromancy, and thus would probably be important. Eventually, she found a bookstore, simply titled _Tomes_, and walked through the door.

The store was lit so poorly, it could barely be qualified as lit in the first place. There were shelves and shelves of musty old tomes, and Seiga could tell that many of them carried curses and the like with them. The shop was empty, save for a single hooded figure at a desk, likely the one who she had to pay. She swiftly made her way through, grabbing a single book on Necromancy and History before making her way to the desk. The figure silently held up five fingers. Seiga dropped five galleons in front of him before leaving, books in tow. She swiftly made her way out of the alley.

Shortly afterwards, she ran into Harry and Hagrid. "Find everything all right then?" she asked. Harry and Hagrid nodded.

"Yeah, we got my wand just now," said Harry. Seiga nodded, then noticed the white owl.

"Who is this, then?" she asked.

"Hagrid gave her to me as a present. She carries letters," said Harry. Seiga smiled and nodded. A method of communication was always nice, and now she had a way to contact Harry if he needed it.

"Perfect. I managed to finish up as well. You'll get your present once we return, Harry. It's a few books and a challenge I have for you. Should you complete it, I'll have a wonderful reward for you. Let's go get some lunch," said Seiga. The three of them then moved out of the alley, their business complete.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: There we go, Diagon. This is a pretty important chapter, as it starts a few of the major plot points in motion, and is both Harry and Seiga's first real foray into the Wizarding World.<strong>

**First things first, I hate writing about Diagon. It always annoys me, and I feel it may have reflected itself in this chapter. I didn't want to rehash canon, and there wasn't much room for change, so I decided to have Seiga go her own way for this chapter. Now, first things first, Seiga found out Harry was famous. Before, he was just a mildly interesting boy to her, now, he's a likely avenue for one of her major life goals to be furthered. This is huge for Seiga and Harry's relationship, though the latter doesn't know it. Now she has a vested interest in both converting him to her Taoist ways, as well as making sure he is a public figure, whether he wants it or not. Secondly, her meeting with Lucius Malfoy. There are very few people in Harry Potter canon that I can honestly say are truly Slytherin. Slytherin is the house of cunning and ambition. People like Draco Malfoy act more like Hufflepuffs, fiercely loyal to their cause of pureblood rights and their family. People like Crabbe and Goyle… I don't even know. However, there are a few, truly cunning, truly ambitious people. Voldemort used to be one, but then he became a generic villain that I don't really think shows too many acts of cunning. His revival was unnecessarily complicated, his attack on the Ministry poorly planned. Severus Snape is probably the most Slytherin person in the entire books, the level of cunning he had to play two sides of a game was immense, and his ambitions, while not great, were very important to him. The third person was, in fact, Lucius Malfoy. He genuinely gets away with plots like almost no other – events like the Chamber of Secrets. Yes, Harry figured it out, but it doesn't matter because his word is nothing against Lucius's word, and there was, in the end, no solid proof. I'm going to be playing that up in the future, and in the absence of Voldemort, and while Dumbledore is busy with other things, the elder Malfoy will be playing a large role in things to come, I think.**

**Additionally, you may have noticed something there that was not exactly canon. I wasn't sure about this, but in the end I felt it was ideal to have the lesser wizards 'level up' so to speak, to keep things interesting. I cannot believe that elite Death Eaters like Malfoy and Bellatrix couldn't completely crush a bunch of schoolchildren, who weren't even using any particularly complex tactics. As such, I decided to make them not only more competent, but to give them a bit of an edge. I also gave a bit of credence to the pureblood argument with there actually being a _visible_ effect of being a pureblood. No, it doesn't mean they are overall better, but just like people have certain traits running in their families, pureblood families have certain predispositions towards certain kinds of magic. This isn't to say they're instant experts, but, should Harry put in the time, he would become a master at Transfiguration because, ultimately, all the physical and spiritual pieces he needs are present. People who are genetically predisposed to have strong legs, should they put the time in, are more likely to be better runners than, say, someone who is genetically predisposed to have heart problems, should the same amount of time be put in. This is simply applied to magic. Malfoy I decided give a lesser version of Reimu's 'intuition', so to speak. Reimu, the main character of the Touhou Project, has a ridiculous intuition, to the point that when she goes out and solves an incident, she does so without any real clues to who did it, instinctually finds the culprit. This is given to a lesser extent to the Malfoy family, meaning a few things. For one, he can notice powerful people, like Seiga. For another, his battle prowess is greatly enhanced as his reflexes are better. Finally, he can easily understand how to get money from the market and how to go up the political chain because he instinctually knows when something is a death trap or too good to give up. It does cheapen his character's canon achievements a little bit, but I feel that the added prowess is far too good to give up.**

**So anyways, this chapter gives more insight into what Seiga wants, gives some good setup for future plot points, and Harry and Hagrid are mostly ignored. Yay!**

**Don't worry though, Harry will be the main focus of the next chapter, as it is going to be the first part of his first year. It's his turn to shine.**

**Remember, please help me out by giving me feedback, point out inconsistencies, grammar errors, OOCness that isn't deliberate, whatever. I really want to improve my writing, and I need all the help I can get. Thank you for your time, and have a nice day/night.**


	3. Chapter 3

Seiga hated trains. It was a natural reaction, for not only were they large, loud, and annoying, but she had only had one encounter with a train before in her life.

Being hit face first by a speeding one in the battle to kick her out of Gensokyo.

Fortunately for her, there were no old and powerful youkai trying to get her kicked out of their home in King's Cross station, and as such she was able to peacefully make her way to the wall between Platform Nine and Platform Ten.

"Now Harry, remember what Hagrid told you. Run straight into the wall without stopping," instructed the blue-haired hermit quietly. It wouldn't do for any of the non-magical folk to overhear, after all. Harry nodded and, gritting his teeth in an internal show of determination, ran towards the wall. The moment the cart he carried touched it, he vanished. No one had noticed. Seiga, nodding, casually walked over to the wall and passed through without any hassle.

The two of them made their way through the crowd to the train. There were many calls and cries there. Harry noticed a red haired woman lecturing a pair of twins, trying to impress upon them the necessities of behaving properly. Seiga, on the other hand, was far more interested in watching a blond haired boy making his way onto the train, flanked by two large boys his same age. Her eyes flickered to the woman saying her goodbyes to him, and the man standing next to her. The Malfoy family. It seemed that Lucius Malfoy had a son attending Hogwarts this year. The boy's robes showed no sign of any color, unlike any of the older students she saw, so that probably meant he was a first year alongside Harry. _How interesting_ she thought.

Finally, Harry and Seiga reached the train. She quickly helped him get his trunk up, and then spoke. "Remember Harry. If you can figure out what exactly I am, it'd make me very happy, and I'd give you a reward," she said. She knew that he would probably fail, as information on hermits wasn't very widely spread, and there would be precious little to link her to one, but that wasn't her goal. She knew that Harry held her in high regard and as such would do his hardest to listen to her request, and, in researching would learn much, much more than if he simply made his way through classes with minimal effort. Ultimately, this would make him the better wizard. It would help him throughout his life.

More importantly, it'd make him powerful, and thus influential.

Seiga said her goodbyes and left the station.

* * *

><p>As soon as Harry could find an empty compartment, he sat down and took out one of the many books Seiga had given him as a present. He knew the ride would be fairly long, and since he had nothing to do, he wanted to get a head start on Seiga's task. Harry felt that Seiga had done far too much for him. She had taught him many things, made sure he had at least one meal every day, and was a huge reasons on why the Dursleys more or less left him alone now. Seiga was the single person who had done the most for Harry in his life, so he felt that he had to repay her, even a little, and if it took finding out what she was to do it, he would do it.<p>

_All right_ thought Harry. _Where should I start? Seiga said she wasn't entirely human, but she looks like one. I think wizards are still human, and she wouldn't ask me to find out what she was if she was a wizard, so that can't be it. Maybe if I start with some human-like creatures?_

He opened the book _A Comprehensive Guide to Beings_, and began to read.

_Beings is a term that has had many difficulties being defined in the past. The current definition of Being was, along with the definition of Beast and Spirit, defined in 1811 by the Minister of Magic Grogan Stump…_

A knock at the carriage door brought Harry out of his reading. He opened the door, and saw a redheaded boy on the outside.

"Er, hi. Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked.

"Yeah sure," responded Harry, returning to his seat. "My name is Harry," he said.

"I'm Ron Weasley," replied the newcomer. Harry returned to his reading.

_The current definition of Being is "any creature that has sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community and bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws." This includes creatures such as vampires, wizards, and werewolves in their human form. Although centaurs and merpeople were offered this status, they strongly objected to being grouped with vampires and hags, and as such requested to be termed as beasts. Ghosts and Dementors are classified as Spirits, as they are not alive. _

"What are you reading?" asked Ron. Harry looked up.

"Nothing much. My neighbor asked me to look into something for her, and I figured I'd get a head start since there really isn't much to do on the train ride," the black-haired boy responded.

"Do you see your neighbor often?" asked Ron. "My house is basically in the middle of nowhere, so it takes a while for us to get to the nearest house. That's why we don't really see our neighbors often."

"Really? I live in Surrey, so our houses are close. Before Hogwarts, I used to go over every day," said Harry.

"You lived with muggles? What is it like? My dad really likes muggle things, and his job makes him deal with nonmagical things a lot, but I don't really know too much."

"Well I didn't really like it. My aunt and uncle and cousin aren't really nice, but my neighbors are. Both of them – they both live in the same house by the way – taught me a lot of cool stuff. They're not muggles, but they're not wizards either. I don't know what they are, actually. Are your family all wizards?" replied Harry.

"Yeah, all of them. Well, except for Mom's second cousin. I think he's an accountant or something? I don't know, we don't really talk about him a lot. They don't really teach me things too much, apparently you're not supposed to do magic before you go to Hogwarts," responded Ron.

"Hagrid said the same thing. Oh, he's the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. He showed me around Diagon Alley," said Harry. "Hey, you know a lot about magical things right. Want to help me figure out what my neighbor is?"

"Eh, sure. Don't really have anything else to do," said Ron.

The two of them spent the time chatting like this, Harry pointing out some Beings and Ron reciting the childhood wisdom his mother passed on to him. They made little progress in regards to figuring out what Seiga was, but the two of them enjoyed themselves. Eventually, the food cart came by, and Harry bought a few things for Ron and himself. It wasn't long after that the door opened again, this time revealing a bushy haired girl and a tearful boy.

"Have any of you seen a toad? Neville's lost his," called a girl.

"Fraid not," said Harry.

"Nothing here," said Ron. Another group of people, one blond haired boy and two large, thick boys. Harry racked his memory, and realized that he had seen the boy at Madam Malkin's, after Seiga had left.

"I heard that Harry Potter was in here. Is it true?" asked the boy.

"Yes," said Harry. Ron's eyes widened and he turned to Harry, as did the girl's. She looked like she was about to say something, but Malfoy was quicker.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle," indicating the two boys at his sides. "I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." Ron made an odd noise, a mixture between a cough and a snigger. Malfoy turned on him.

"Oh. A _Weasley_. Poor, powerless, overall really not the best kind of people in society. You shouldn't really deal too much with them, it'd do you more harm than good," stated Malfoy, his voice calm and cool but his words sharp. Ron grew red at each one, until his face was the same shade as his hair. Neville shied away, as if to prevent any attention from falling onto him. Malfoy didn't even notice him.

"That's rather rude of you, don't you think!" said the girl. Malfoy turned to her.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Hermione Granger," she said.

"Oh. Granger… no, I don't think I've heard of that name. You must be _muggle-born_ then," said Malfoy, uttering the word as if it was a curse. Hermione picked up on it, and grew red as well.

"I thought the Malfoys were supposed to be some sort of politically powerful family," said Harry. Malfoy turned to him.

"We are. My father is high up in the Ministry, and has the ear of the Minister himself," said Malfoy, his voice filled with pride.

"Yeah, Seiga said things about him. I'm a little confused though, you're acting otherwise. Shouldn't a proper Malfoy, instead of walking in and insulting people I've known for a longer period of time, instead focus on securing a stronger relationship with me before doing such things?" asked Harry. Malfoy, unlike Ron and Hermione, did not grow red, but a faint shade of pink appeared on his cheeks.

"I didn't know living with muggles made you an expert on wizard politics. You'd better be careful, if you aren't more polite you'll anger the wrong people, and then where would you be?" retorted Malfoy. He stormed off with Crabbe and Goyle in tow. Harry silently returned to his book, his mood quite foul. The others picked up on this. Ron remained silent the rest of the ride, and Hermione and Neville left. The rest of the train ride passed without event.

* * *

><p>Harry's mood had quickly disappeared after he caught sight of the castle, and was replaced with a mixture of wonder and anticipation, with a touch of anxiety. He was currently waiting for his turn to be called by the Sorting Hat, the ragged, old, and most importantly, singing hat which decided which house he would be in. Harry still had little idea what house he wanted to be in, and had spoken with Seiga about it. Her thoughts were simple: whatever house he got into, he got into. Things like those weren't decided on a whim. That didn't help him at all, and as each name was called – "Padma Patil!" – the knot in his stomach grew a little. Eventually, it was his turn.<p>

"Harry Potter!"

The knot in his stomach worsened greatly, and he slowly made his way towards the hat. The hall was silent, everyone waiting for the moment that the famous boy who had defeated Voldemort would sorted. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this was probably the most important sorting in years. When Harry reached the hat, an old lady – Professor McGonagall his mind supplied – lifted the hat. He sat down on the stool, nervous and worried. The hat was slowly placed over his head, the brim obscuring his vision so that he saw only black.

"Oh my, this will be a hard sorting," said a small voice in his ear.

_Oh no_, Harry thought. _I won't go anywhere and then I'll go home and Seiga will be disappointed in me and -_

"Calm down," said the voice. "No matter what, I'll be putting you somewhere. It's simply a matter of where,"

_I don't particularly care where, as long as I'm somewhere_ thought Harry. Maybe if Seiga wasn't a part of a life he'd have made a preference known, or ruled out a house. As it was, he was too afraid of disappointing her to make any preference known, fearing it would rule out the only house the Hat was going to put him in.

"I suppose that's the first thing we should address. You have such a deep desire to prove yourself. It has only been amplified by having someone to prove yourself _to_. It's only natural after all, she's done a lot for you hasn't she?" said the Hat. Harry nodded slowly.

"I suppose you're rather hard working as well, and loyal too. You'd never do anything to harm those two, even if it was the right thing. I suppose that rules out Gryffindor then. You may be noble and brave, but ultimately that comes second. Pity, a lot of people thought you would end up similar to your parents," it continued. Harry silently remained still.

"Slytherin is next. You could be great, and prove yourself to everyone. Prove you are exactly what they think of you and more. You could be, no, you_ would be _great. But you don't want to be great, do you? No, not only that, being in Slytherin would isolate so many of the people you know. Hagrid. Ron. No, you would not find what you need in Slytherin," it said, slowly analyzing Harry's every thought, every desire.

"Hufflepuff. You are loyal, but only to those who you trust. That list, however, is rather short. Two people long, in fact. You work hard as well, but not for hard work's sake alone. Perhaps you would fit into Hufflepuff, but it is just as likely that you would not fit in, you don't trust nearly as easy enough as the others," it continued.

"Finally, Ravenclaw. Seiga's teachings have actually kindled, however small, a desire to learn. You want to impress Seiga with your knowledge, you want to finish her task for you. All of the hard work, all of the desire, you could channel it into your studies. In fact, that's what you're planning to do isn't it? However… you'll find that Ravenclaw is a harsh place. Hufflepuff would be easier on you, but Ravenclaw might just get you everything you desire. I'll let you pick this time. Hufflepuff… or Ravenclaw?"

Harry's decision was almost immediate. He knew exactly what he wanted.

"I see. Of course, it couldn't be anything else. You're far too loyal to pick another house," the hat whispered. Then, it bellowed in its powerful voice: "RAVENCLAW!"

The hall was silent for a brief moment, then loud with cheers as Harry made his way to his house table, being congratulated by his new peers. All he felt was relief.

* * *

><p>Harry found himself sitting across from a pair of ghosts, one male and one female. He was a little unnerved, and stared at them. The male, noticing his look, turned to him.<p>

"Hello, Mr. Potter. I am Lord Draben, and this is the Gray Lady. Are you enjoying Hogwarts so far?" he asked, intending to put the boy at ease.

"Ah! Y-yes. Sorry, I've just never seen ghosts before and was a little surprised," Harry replied, a bit sheepish at being caught staring.

"It is no matter," said the Gray Lady. "I was much the same the first time I saw a ghost. By the way, I am the ghost of the Ravenclaw house. Should you need any assistance finding something, or directions, I will do my best to help you."

"Thank you very much," said Harry. He clapped for one Lisa Turpin as she joined the house.

"So Harry," said a boy to his left, "Did you really do everything those books said?"

"Err… what books?" asked Harry, confused.

"That answers that then. There are a lot of books that have gone around about you and your "adventures". Your name is a household name after all. You're essentially the hero of several fairy tales," the boy explained. Harry's eyes widened.

"Oh. Well, no. I'm afraid I haven't done anything like that," Harry said. The boy nodded.

"I see. Well, I'm Terry Boot, nice to meet you,"

"Likewise,"

The next few minutes were a flurry of introductions, with Harry getting to know his new housemates. Kevin Entwhistle was a muggle-born and was in a situation like his, with not nearly enough information about the Wizarding world to get by. Padma Patil had a twin in Gryffindor, and was from India. Mandy Brocklehurst's family was traditionally Hufflepuffs, but she was sorted into Ravenclaw. Michael Corner was a half-blood, his dad was a wizard and his mom a muggle. Anthony Goldstein was the opposite, with his mother a witch and his father a Jewish businessman in Ireland. Su Li was from China, and had a very traditional Taoist family. The introductions continued, until finally Dumbledore spoke.

"Before we begin, I would like to say a few words: Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, and Tweak!" he said, before sitting down. Harry was unsure what to say to that, as were the other Ravenclaws. Lord Draben, however, merely laughed.

"You know, while Dumbledore may appear to be mad, he's the greatest wizard of the era. There is meaning in those words, and it would do you good to figure them out. Don't think too hard though, you'll give yourself a headache," he said, chuckling before he floated over to the Hufflepuff table, likely to socialize there. Harry quietly returned to his food. He enjoyed the feast greatly.

BREAK

Harry and the other Ravenclaw first years were being led up to their dorms by a prefect by the name of Penelope Clearwater, a fifth year with long, curly hair.

"Our head of house is Professor Flitwick, who teaches Charms. He's the small half-goblin, and is very fair and will hear you out if you have troubles, so speak with him if you need anything. Of course, you can always come to me or the other prefects as well. Our house ghost is the Gray Lady, and she'll help you if you lose something or get lost. We don't have a password for our dorms, so you'll have to – Ah! Here we are. You have to answer a riddle to get through to the dormitory, or wait for someone to answer the riddle for you. I'll let you all have a go at it this time, as practice. Don't worry, I'll solve it if you can't," she said. Harry made sure to mentally map the location of the tower and staircase he had to climb to get here. They stopped before a wall with a large bronze eagle-shaped knocker. Harry barely had time to look at it properly before it spoke.

"Emily's father had four daughters. Their names were Nana, Nene, Nini, and Nono. What was the fifth's name?"

Harry blinked for a second. The riddle was rather easy, and it seemed the others thought so too, and one of them spoke out.

"Emily," she said. The wall slid to one side, and revealed the Ravenclaw common room. The group walked in.

"Now, look at this bust here. It is of Rowena Ravenclaw, our founder. Her favorite quote was '_Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure_'. I hope you all keep that in mind as you progress through the years. Thank you very much, and have a good night."

_Dear Seiga. _

_Hogwarts is a very strange place. It's filled with ghosts, moving paintings, and other weird things. I was sorted into Ravenclaw, which is the house for the wise and intelligent people. I'm going to do everything I can to do well, and to make sure I finish your challenge. I'm going to find out what you are._

_Our Headmaster, Dumbledore is really weird, but apparently he's smart too. He said some random words at our welcoming feast, but a ghost told me that they weren't random and had meaning to them. Our head of house is a half-goblin, like the ones at Gringotts, but the older students say he's fair. He teaches Charms. _

_Speaking of Goblins, one of the other Ravenclaws told me that Gringotts had been robbed the same day that we went there. The vault that was robbed was Vault 713, but it was empty, so it must have been after we went there. _

_I have my first classes tomorrow, so those will be interesting. I hope everything is all right over there in Surrey. _

_Harry_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**All right, done. This chapter was the start of Hogwarts, so the start of the chapters where Harry takes the main role. Don't worry, there will be Seiga soon, but not yet. She can't exactly show up to Dumbledore and say "Hey! Make me a teacher!" after all. **

**The train ride was mostly canon, as there really wasn't too much to change there, but it was important to show that this Harry is still similar to canon Harry, and his reactions to the same people that canon Harry met are, while slightly different, ultimately quite the same. I did mash a few events together, because there simply wasn't enough importance to justify having everything so spread out. That, and I don't like writing the train ride too much, similar to Diagon Alley. **

**Getting to similarities and differences between this and canon, the sorting. I spent **_**forever**_** trying to decide what this would be. It was quite annoying, because not only was it important to my planning of future events, it also decides a lot of how Harry's character development goes. Book 1 Harry is rather similar to a blank slate, and doesn't have much to his personality. A lot of his future personality comes from the fact that he is a Gryffindor. I spent a long time deciding on how he would react to the sorting, and decided that he simply would not go into Gryffindor. Book 1 Harry, before the sorting, wasn't really all too brave, but he was noble. However, he wasn't really noble enough to be sorted into Gryffindor cleanly, so to speak. I felt that he simply (aside from Slytherin), didn't fit the other criteria enough to be considered for them. He wasn't particularly clever, and didn't want to learn, and he wasn't loyal to anyone because, well, he didn't really have anyone to be loyal too. He worked hard, sure, but mostly because he had to, not because he loved it. Seiga changed this. Harry wants to prove himself to Seiga, very much. He also, through her teachings, finds that he at least somewhat enjoys learning (at least Seiga's way). Due to this, he's now become a candidate for the other two houses, and Gryffindor, while a possibility, simply isn't close enough to him for him to go there. Ultimately, my logic is shown in the hat, and Harry joined the Ravenclaw house. Hopefully you guys think it makes sense. **

**By the way, all of these new characters I've mentioned are apparently all from the HP universe somewhere, though I don't know for sure from where ,as not all are mentioned by name in the books. Look it up if you're curious. I did make a couple of minor facts up, as a lot of the Ravenclaws weren't really fleshed out. I tried to make them somewhat reasonable (For example, Goldstein is a fairly common Jewish surname, as such I thought to make Anthony Jewish. Su Li is an oriental name, and I figured I'd make her from China, like Seiga)**

**For those curious about how Harry got a letter out to Seiga before class, he sent one out with permission and help from a prefect. It's not important enough to be worth mentioning in the story, but if you guys were curious due to the time frame involved, I figured I'd answer it here. **

**Anyway, thanks again for reading. Feedback, as always, is quite appreciated. Have a nice day/night.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Enter, Stranger, but take heed_

_ Of what awaits the sin of greed_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

It was a simple poem, but a meaningful one. A warning against the unscrupulous and untrustworthy, a message to keep them from stealing from the bank. It was also a very effective one, for no witch or wizard, sane or otherwise, would dare to take the security of Gringotts Wizarding Bank lightly. She knew this, and she understood this.

But to her, it mattered little.

It was the same feeling that spurred her to rob residents of Gensokyo of their Christmas presents, only to resell them to the stores that owned them. A mixture of whim and indignation, and even more besides. She felt that she had been challenged, that the bank had slighted her in some way. Ultimately, only one thing mattered, however:

Seiga Kaku wanted to rob Gringotts.

She had prepared for it, prepared well. The majority of the month between the trip to Gringotts and Harry's letter were spent in preparation for the event. Research was conducted, spells were recalled and refined, and Yoshika labored over until the Jiang Shi was in peak condition. Finally, the day after Seiga had received Harry's letter, the same day that Harry Potter had left for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Seiga could honestly say she was ready.

Seiga had made her way into an isolated corner of Knockturn Alley. Her hair was dyed black and let down, her normal dress replaced with the common black robes worn by wizards. She had also cast a spell to alter her facial features. She did not intend to be seen directly, but as a precautionary measure it was prudent for her to ensure that she could not be recognized. Yoshika was dressed in much the same, with a hood obscuring her face and talisman.

The first phase was entering Gringotts. A huge portion of the security of the Gringotts was limiting what entered the caves. There was only one entrance into the depths of the bank, and it was covered by the building itself. As such, the goblins were easily able to monitor who or what entered the bank simply by monitoring what walked into the marble walls. In addition, while the bank was in the hands of the Ministry of Magic, a series of wards was put over the marble building. Additionally, given that Seiga did not have an account at Gringotts, it would be difficult to get into the caves. Even if Seiga opened one, she would only be permitted access to the higher floors, and would be accompanied by a goblin, which would prevent her from being able to enter the lower floors. On top of this, it would be impossible to leave with items from the front. In short, entering Gringotts from the front was not feasible, and there was no other avenue to enter.

However, if there isn't a path to take, then one simply has to make one. And that was precisely what Seiga would do.

There are many different methods and flavors of magic. You could go with faith based magic, such as the ones that are used by Gods or shrine maidens. These would come with anti-creature abilities and purification rites. You could go with Elemental magic, which, as the name suggests, affords one power over the elements. You could go with raw power and end up with magic similar to the Black-White in Gensokyo. You could also go with magic like wizards and witches, wand based but very _very_ versatile, and so on and so forth. The different methods of magic extended to practically everything that could be thought of, and the applications varied vastly. Gringotts was based heavily on Goblin magic.

Goblin magic was, to put it simply, enchantment based. They imbued qualities into their items, be it the ability to resist dirt and grime onto their weapons, or to take the qualities of things that touch them. Goblins were enchanters of the highest caliber. While they may have allowed the Ministry to ward the upper portions of the bank, the lower portions had decided to forgo such protections in favor of the kind that could be used only by goblins. The caves of Gringotts were lined with qualities that made it impossible to use any sort of magical transportation to appear inside their walls, and were impossible to force open. This was to prevent any entry into the vaults without permission from the bankers. The goblins had assumed that this made it impenetrable, and, indeed, it was not possible to pass through the wall of rock that lined the caves of Gringotts. Unfortunately for them, Seiga's specialty was passing through walls. Wards and enchantments shared a fatal flaw: they were purely preventative and completely inflexible. In other words, you could only use them to prevent what you could predict. As such, the goblins had no protection against what Seiga would do.

Seiga reached into her sleeve and pulled out her hair pin. It was enchanted by ancient Taoist magic, magic which outlived even Dumbledore. She touched the ground with it, and the ground parted, a hole opening up. She quickly jumped inside, Yoshika following, and the hole closed. Seiga's pin was had a unique ability: the ability to pass through walls of any kind. The strength of the wall was irrelevant, the mere fact that it could be defined as a wall and that it was something that existed in reality was enough for the pin's magic to force it to part in front of the blue-haired hermit. It was the most powerful artifact in her possession, and was instrumental in many of her encounters with Kishin. Slowly, but surely, Seiga dutifully used it to dig a tunnel under Knockturn and Diagon Alley, and into the caves of Gringotts.

Eventually, the duo appeared in an empty cave. It stretched on in two directions, but tilted heavily downwards. Seiga, eyes flickering left and right, slowly closed her tunnel. She gently floated downwards, Yoshika following. There were a pair of tracks beneath them, likely for the carts that traversed the caves. They continued, down down down. Eventually, the caves opened up into a large cavern, deep and vast.

"This must be where the vaults are," said Seiga lowly. She quickly flew directly downwards, leaving the path behind. Shortly afterwards, the duo reached the lower floors. They quickly moved into one of the set of caves. There was a clear waterfall very close to the entrance. Seiga knew that the Goblins had additional security, and also knew that their magics were enchantment based, guessed that it was enchanted in some way. Not willing to figure out how, she quickly opened a hole in the side of the cavern and bypassed the waterfall completely. The duo continued on quietly, but it wasn't long before they stopped. A low rumble could be heard, followed by the sound of chains. There was something large chained up ahead. Seiga was not so naïve as to think that the Goblins would be so foolish as to use only preventative measures for protection. The obvious flaw could be easily corrected by having an obstacle which could only be surmounted by using the items that could not be brought into the bank. The simplest way, and the most likely way, for this to be achieved would be to bring some sort of magical beast into the picture.

Seiga signaled Yoshika. It was time for her to do her part. Yoshika was largely useless in stealth missions, being slower to move than the average human, and, due to the rotting of her brain, a bit on the slower side. However, there was something that she excelled at: combat. Yoshika never tired, never slowed. Even if the beast was great and powerful, Yoshika would perform adequately as it likely would not have room to maneuver, while Yoshika's flight would be able to allow her to dodge the beast's assaults with ease. Yoshika moved forward, ready to warn Seiga in the case of danger. Seiga followed at a safe distance.

The beast was large, though not massive. If it stood to its full height, it would be slightly larger than Seiga, despite being four legged. It had the golden, feline body of a lion, then the majestic wings of an eagle, and finally the face of a human. A sphinx, the guardians of the sands. It was fitting that one would be chosen to help guard the vaults of Gringotts. It was, however, surprising that a being as intelligent as a sphinx allowed Goblins to enslave it so. Yoshika, seeing that the sphinx had not made any sort of attack, stopped and gave time for Seiga to catch up. Seiga stood, facing the sphinx, her face betraying nothing. The sphinx looked back.

"What goes up, but never comes down?" it said. A riddle.

Seiga frowned. Such a half-hearted attempt was strange to her, but she did not have the information required to make an educated guess as to why the attempt was so halfhearted. She would simply have to answer the riddle. It was tricky, but to someone who had lived centures, it wasn't too difficult.

"Age," said Seiga. The sphinx nodded, before suddenly pouncing at Seiga. The answer was correct, but the riddle was a trap. It preyed on the expectation of a Sphinx's Riddle, and used the moment where the potential thief felt safest, the moment right after they solved the riddle, to strike. Unfortunately for the sphinx, Yoshika was there.

Yoshika didn't really understand the riddle, but she trusted her Master Seiga to answer it correctly. Instead she focused on the sphinx. While human-animal hybrids were not uncommon in Gensokyo, it was still her first time seeing a sphinx, and thus it was worth noting, even if she would likely forget all about it soon. As such, she was prepared when the sphinx pounced, and moving with speed unexpected from someone as slow as Yoshika, she flew over in front of the sphinx and blasted it face first with a _danmaku_ bullet. The bullet of light, key the most common form of combat in Gensokyo, stunned the sphinx enough for Seiga to work her magic.

Taoist magic was, ultimately, based off of the Wu Xing, also known as the Five Phases or Elements. It consisted of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, and had a number of relationships within them. The first relationship was one of creation. Wood fueled fire, which burned into ashes for the earth. Earth was then forged into metal, which turned into minerals and fueled water. Water would then nourish wood, and ultimately the cycle would repeat. There was also a cycle of overcoming, of combat. Water doused fire, but was soaked by Earth. Earth was overgrown by wood. Wood was cut down by metal, and metal was melted by Fire. Together, the two cycles formed the basis of Taoist magic. Sphinxes were creatures of Earth, not only being closely related to the sands of the desert, but also spiritually. Earth represented patience, reliability, and logic. The three key aspects of a proper sphinx's personality were also represented by the Earth.

Earth was also overcome by Metal. Seiga pointed a palm at the Sphinx and a white, glowing pentagram appeared, a circle inside a star. Each point of the star had a Chinese character for one of the Five Elements, with Metal on top. The pentagram let loose a ray of magic imbibed with the element of metal engulfed the sphinx. It faded shortly afterwards, leaving a smoking corpse. Seiga quickly moved forwards. She shortly found herself in front of a large stone door. It was perfectly solid, with no visible flaws or hinges present, nor any method of opening it. Indeed, it was the bank's greatest security measure, for should one attempt to open the door without the touch of an authorized goblin, they would find themselves sucked inside with no way out, left to rot. Seiga simply removed her pin and used it to open a hole in the door, and entered the vault

Inside were mounds and heaps of gold and items. Seiga touched one, and immediately dropped it, startled by the burning of the coin. The coin then split into several copies. Seiga frowned. It appeared that if someone tried to take the items, they would burn the owner and create many copies. The copies would almost certainly be worthless in the real world, but they could probably be melted down and sold in the Muggle world without problems. Seiga, however, was not a normal thief. She was not here for money, no, she was there to make a point, to show that she (although no one would know it was her) was vastly superior to the stronghold of the goblins. Copies would not do, and petty gold wouldn't either. She floated above, Yoshika below, and looked for something eye catching. She found a sword, which looked valuable, judging by how it was placed in a position of prominence.

"Yoshika, take the sword," she said. Yoshika gave a grunt of agreement and floated over. She grabbed the sword and lifted it, ignoring the burning and not caring about the copies that fell down. Seiga held out a bag which she had charmed to hold a significantly greater amount of items. Seiga then quickly marked the sword, so as to identify it from any copies that may form in the bag, and let Yoshika drop it into the bag. Satisfied with the contents of this vault, she quickly moved on to the next one and repeated the process. Eventually, she robbed every vault in the area guarded by the sphinx and had to move on. The two thieves moved on to the next vault.

Seiga was _not _pleased with what she saw. A large, white dragon. Even for someone as powerful as her a dragon was formidable. She would have thought more about the situation, but had to dive to the side to avoid the dragon's maw from swallowing her whole. She made sure to float rather than hit the floor. The dragon snapped its head towards her and breathed out a ball of fire. Seiga twisted and threw her hands forward, a blue version of the pentacle with the Wu Xing appearing, this one with the sign for water on top. Seiga unleased as much water as she could on such short notice forward in an effort to repel the fire. It wasn't enough to extinguish the fire, no matter how powerful Seiga was, a short notice spell versus the breath of a dragon was too uneven of a matchup, but it diverted the flames enough to leave Seiga merely burned and injured instead of burned to a crisp.

Yoshika _acted_. She flew up with unexpected speed and punched the dragon straight through the eyes. Most beings, even youkai, would hesitate here. Humans would be repulsed or surprised, while some youkai would be distracted by the _delicious_ blood flowing from the wounds. Yoshika was neither, and as such did not act like them. She punched the being again, her fist meeting the dragon's scales with an audible thud of force. She would have repeated the action, but the dragon turned to her and attempted to bite her. It was unsuccessful. Yoshika's diversion allowed Seiga to compose herself, and she blasted the Dragon with another blast of water-element bullets of energy. With no fire to extinguish it, the blast continued and blasted the inside of the dragon's mouth. The dragon flinched. Seiga then noticed why it was exclusively using its mouth for combat: it was chained to the ground.

"Yoshika! It's chained!" she called out. Yoshika proceeded to fly backwards, out of the reach of its mouth. Seiga did the same in another direction. The dragon could now not manage to attack both at the same time. Then the two started firing bullets of raw energy at the dragon. When using the Spell Card System in Gensokyo, their bullets were weak, only about as strong as a punch from a strong human. In this case, however, unbound by such rules, each bullet was as powerful as a blasting curse from a powerful wizard. Unfortunately, the dragon's hide dulled the blow significantly. However, what the bullets lacked in power they made up for in sheer _quantity_. Every time the dragon turned to Yoshika, Seiga would pepper it with hundreds upon hundreds of the bullets, forcing the dragon to turn its attention to her. Once it did, Yoshika would then do the same. If the dragon attempted to breathe fire at either, they simply dodged it as if it were a spell card from a resident of Gensokyo. Ranged combat was the duo's forte, and the second it was revealed that the dragon could not use its amazing mobility to its fullest, the battle was won. It was mere moments later that the dragon fell to the onslaught. Seiga and Yoshika floated down and took a moment to catch their breath before moving onwards. And so it continued.

* * *

><p><em>Daily Prophet<em>

_Gringotts Robbed for the Second Time _

_Lawrence Brown_

_Last night it was revealed that Gringotts bank was robbed again. While the last time it was robbed, on July 31, the vault that was broken into was empty, and thus not under as much scrutiny as the major vaults where the real money is, the case was not here. It was revealed that the thief, fighting their ways through six sphinxes, four golems, and even a dragon, as well as bypassing every single protection that the goblins had to offer, stole a single item from every single of the highest security vaults. Among the vaults stolen from are ones owned by the Ministry of Magic, as well as several families of major note, such as the Malfoy family, and even the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. The motives of the thief is unknown, but it has become clear that Gringotts was completely incompetent. This is the second break-in in a month's time, and the single, most major event in Gringotts Wizarding Bank's history. There needs to be some major consideration about the state of Wizarding Fiscal Affairs. _

_Is Gringotts Reliable?_

_Rita Skeeter_

_Many people have expressed distaste about trusting beings like the Goblins with the hard earned money of wizards, but in the end it was something that everyone accepted. Everyone says that that's how it has been forever, but few people know that Gringotts, despite being created by the Goblin Gringotts, was actually run by the Ministry of Magic for the majority of its life. The bank was created in 1474, but the Ministry was given control in 1510. It was not returned to Goblin control in 1865, meaning that the Goblins have controlled Gringotts for less than 200 years compared to the 300 years of Ministry control. Clearly, Gringotts Bank's reputation has not been created by the Goblins, but rather by the Ministry itself. The Goblins have also demonstrated that, with not just one but two robberies in the span of a month's time, their defenses are inadequate. It's time to ask some questions. Are the Goblins making Gringotts worse? Can a species known for so much war be trusted with our money? The answers, as always, are up to you. I just report the facts._

* * *

><p><em>AN<em>

_Let me say something first: Being sick sucks_

_Let me say something next: Finals also suck. _

_When combined, the two above cause huge delays. I got violently ill shortly after writing the last chapter and with finals coming up, was unable to write for a long time. My apologies for this. Unfortunately, I won't be updating for a while more as I've still got finals to worry about. _

_So, I decided to, as a sight apology (and mostly because I was bored of writing Hogwarts) move this up a little. Initially I was planning on having another chapter of Harry, this time during his classes, but it wouldn't work out well. It always felt too boring for me. I also had to cut that chapter a little too short to account for this wonderful event. All in all, I decided to push this event up and then write a (assuming things go as planned) larger chapter for next time over the finals. Maybe. Either way, you get some of the more whimsical side of Seiga this time around. Seiga doesn't care about material possessions. She was far more interested in the defenses of Gringotts, and also felt a little bit challenged by that poem. So she decided to rob it! For the giggles!_

_This is an important event, and you can already see some of the repercussions later. Seiga isn't someone to sit around doing nothing. She's going to take actions, and actions are going to have repercussions._

_So there is alot of information in this chapter. I spent a long time thinking about how Seiga's magical abilities as a Hermit would work. Marisa's magic comes from Love, Pathouli's from the elements and alchemy, while Alice's is from... I actually have no idea. Something something magical book? Either way, I did some research and came up with the explanation of using the traditional Chinese 5 Phases. Seiga obviously has some sort of ties to Chinese magics, as exhibited by Yoshika, and it would make sense that she would use a philosophy from China. Ultimately I decided on using this. Hope it makes sense. _

_The history of Gringotts gets a little non-canon-y (according to the wiki at least). While the wiki had information on Gringotts history, it didn't have the exact date it switched to Ministry control so I made it up to serve my purposes... or did I? Who knows, it's Rita Skeeter saying it after all. _

_Oh boy..._

_As always, feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read. _


	5. Chapter 5

Harry had stumbled into his class just barely on time. The teacher, Professor McGonagall, was nowhere to be found. Instead, a single cat was sitting on the podium that Harry assumed the Professor would be using to teach. He quickly headed seats, most of which were already occupied by the rest of his fellow Ravenclaws. It appeared that he was the only one to have had trouble navigating the moving staircases of Hogwarts. Most of the students were already shoving their noses into the textbook. There was no time for any chit-chat as the class started. No-one was late, as the class was filled only with the studious Ravenclaws.

Suddenly, the cat leaped from the stadium. While it was airborne, its limbs lengthened and its fur coat transformed into a black robe. By the time it landed, it was no longer a cat, but rather a stern old witch: Professor McGonagall. The Ravenclaws, who previously had their noses in books, were staring.

"You are here in this class to learn the difficult magic of Transfiguration. I, Professor McGonagall, will be your teacher," she said, her voice stern. Her eyes glanced over the students. No-one dared to make a sound.

"Transfiguration is by far the most complicated branch of wand magic. The amount of variables which you must account for while casting is high, and the consequences of failure higher still. There is no room for tomfoolery in this classroom, and should I catch any of you horsing around, losing points will be the least of your worries, I can assure you of that."

Harry gulped. He was already nervous.

"Now, who here can tell me what exactly Transfiguration is?" asked McGonagall. Most everyone's hands shot up immediately. Harry, having hyperfocused on the study of magical Beings and Beasts in order to figure out what Seiga was, did not prepare for his classes beforehand. As such, he was left with no clue what the answer was, much to his chagrin. McGonagall's eyes swept over the classroom like a hawk, taking in who knew and who did not know.

"Very well, Miss Patil, you may answer," she said. Padma Patil stood up to answer.

"Transfiguration is a branch of magic which concerns altering the physical state of an object," she replied, as if reciting something she had memorized. McGonagall nodded.

"Correct. What this means in layman's terms is that Transfiguration is the type of magic you use to change something into something else. The definition is not fully complete, as certain spells, such as Switching Spells, instead alter the position of an object, but they fall under Transfiguration due to the mechanics behind them. It will, however, suffice for the purposes of his class," said the aged witch.

"Now, the basics behind Transfiguration is rather simple. There are five variables which you need to concern yourself with: the mass of the object you are to transfigure, the viciousness, the amount of magic you put in, and the mass of the end result, and your focus. It is not as simple as 'willing' one thing to become another. While some spells may forgo a variable or two from this formula, it is still the base from which all transfiguration works. There are three major steps to each transfiguration: the deconstruction of the initial object into various particles, a mental structuring, and finally the reconstruction of the object into your desired form. You must first become familiar with how large the object you are transfiguring is, and how large the end result is. If the difference is negligible, then proceed to the next step. If it is not, you must account for the difference. This is done by adding a greater amount of magic and concentration, and then either leaving or taking particles from the air in order to account for the difference. Your magic will ensure that any negative physical effects from the process are negated. Finally, you must concentrate clearly on the form you wish for the particles to take shape, and they shall do so. Any error in any stage will cause failure in the transfiguration. Any questions?" lectured McGonagall. Harry scrambled to take notes, barely understanding the material. The remainder of the class was continued lecture on the basics of Transfiguration. Harry was somewhat disappointed that he did not learn magic, but knew from the lecture that Transfiguration was a very exact branch of magic and that the basics needed to be firmly grasped before any magic could be attempted. If the class attempted the transfiguration now, he doubted anyone would succeed, however basic it would be.

* * *

><p>Harry's next class did not go well either. From the moment he entered the dark, dour dungeon of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, his instincts said that he would not enjoy the class. When he sat down with the other Ravenclaws, once again silent and reading, his stomach sunk a little more. The Hufflepuffs were off chatting with joy with their friends, but it seemed no Ravenclaw had any desire for a social relationship and were all instead focused on reading. Harry did not have a large amount of time in-between the two classes, and as such had not time to read up on the information in the Potions textbook before the class. If he had thought that he would get anything of meaning done, he would read the textbook, but instead he decided to try and take stock of the classroom.<p>

It was dark, meaning no sunlight got into the room. From what little he knew about Potions, he was aware that even the slightest changes could have drastic effects, and as such the class had to be held away from the sunlight so the weather and time of day could not influence the potions made in the class. It was also perfectly dry, to prevent excess water, and the classroom was incredibly clean. It appeared that whoever the Potions teacher was, he was quite exact in his preparations. While this might fill some people with relief, knowing that, at the very least, their teacher was a competent practitioner of the field in question, Harry grew even more nervous at the thought of another class with exacting requirements.

The door opened the moment class started, and a dark haired man swept in. His hair was greasy, and his nose hooked. His robes billowed behind him. The students watched him walk to the front of the room. He turned around sharply.

"I am Severus Snape. You will address me as 'Professor' or 'Sir' at all times. You are here to learn the precise art of Potions. There will be no wand-waving in this class, and you are to follow the instructions I give you to the letter. Am I understood?" he said sharply. There was a series of nods. Snape sneered at the weak response and began taking roll.

"Potter!" he barked. Harry was startled and stood up.

"Yes sir?" he asked.

"What potion do you get if you mix powdered root of asphodel with wormwood?"

"I don't know, Professor," Harry replied. He grew more nervous as the day went on.

"Where would I go to get the skin of a boomslang?" Snape followed without hesitation.

"I don't know, Professor," Harry repeated. He was sweating now, and his throat was in his mouth.

"Where can I find a bezoar?" Snape asked.

"I don't know, Professor," Harry said for the third time. The longer the class continued the more he felt out of place, like he did not belong.

"It seems that Potter here did not bother opening his textbook before class. It seems that fame does not get us everything, now, does it. You will find the answers to the questions on page 7, 13, and 24 of your textbooks. You are expected to know the information on the entirety of the first chapter by the class after next on Thursday, the last class we have this week. You will know the entirety of Chapter two for the next week, and so on. This will continue every week until the book is completed. Is that understood?" said Snape harshly. The students nodded again. Snape tapped the chalkboard, and a recipe for a potion appeared.

"For this class and the next few classes afterwards you will be brewing a Boil-curing potion. The instructions are on the board. You have an hour. Begin," ordered the Professor. Harry silently began to put together his potion, following the instructions to the letter, being exacting with his measurements. He had noticed a trend in magic: exactness. He would now be sure to study and practice until his spells were flawless, regardless of whether it was required or not. Harry had known he was behind, but he was not aware of how behind he was. He wasn't going to disappoint Seiga by being an incompetent wizard, no, he would live up to the expectations of his neighbor, his house, and, most of all, himself if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

><p>Harry's next class was Herbology. The class was significantly less strict than the two classes he had on Monday, but this did not deter an of Harry's nervousness. The reason for this was simple: the consequences were possibly steeper for not knowing information in this class. The reason was not the teacher herself. Professor Sprout, the Head of Hufflepuff, was a plump, kind woman, and was only strict to those who were deliberately maltreating their plants or not paying proper care. No, the reason why Harry could not afford to slip up was the students.<p>

Several Hogwarts classes were, due to the lack of staff and the availability of space, dual-house. Classes like DADA or Transfiguration had only one house, but Potions and Herbology had two. Harry had had Potions with the Hufflepuffs, who were not too likely do judge, and as such only had to worry about his fellow Ravenclaws and Snape. Herbology, on the other hand, was a class he shared with Slytherins. Ravenclaws and Slytherins were, unlike the other two houses, internally competitive. Slytherins were usually ambitious and cunning, and, without wisdom to temper those two qualities, would do anything they could to distinguish themselves. Ravenclaws, on the other hand, were competitive due to their studies. Yes, Ravenclaws could hang out every once in a while as friends, but first and foremost came their thirst for knowledge. Put the two houses together and you have a hypercompetitive environment that Harry could not afford to slip up in. The one thing Harry did not want to do was disappoint people, and thanks to his fame, everyone had high expectations of him.

Harry was snapped out of his musing by an elbow. Herbology was usually a group class due to shortage of materials. Professor sprout had assigned each of them a partner who they would be working with. If the need arose for greater groups, the sets of two would join to form them. Harry's particular partner was Su Li. She was a smart witch, but very studious.

"Harry. Pay attention," she whispered. Sprout was lecturing on basic plant-care. At the stage that first years worked at, Harry did not need to know any additional information on plant-care, as the experience he had from tending both Seiga's and his Aunt's gardens would carry over. It was only in their next year, when they would handle more dangerous and magical plants, that he would have to really pay attention to procedures. He had made sure to double-check this in his textbook.

"I am," he muttered back. Su frowned at him, but let the matter drop, unwilling to argue with Harry any further.

* * *

><p>History of Magic, which Harry had with the Gryffindors, was taught by Professor Cuthbert Binns, a ghost. Harry tried his hardest to stay awake and take notes, but quickly realized that it was futile as the ghost managed to suck the life out of the text he recited word for word from the book. Most of his fellow Ravenclaws had already fallen asleep, realizing this and deciding they would rather study in their free time. The remainder were using the time to prepare for other classes. All but one of the Gryffindors, Hermione, were asleep. Hermione was diligently taking notes, a fact that simply astounded Harry. He soon fell asleep.<p>

* * *

><p>Charms was incredibly interesting. Harry was somewhat looking forward to the class, as it would be taught by his own Head of House, Flitwick. The small, half-goblin Professor looked extremely happy at the beginning of class. This class was probably the one he was looking forward to the most as well.<p>

"Hello, class. As you all know I am Filius Flitwick, Charms Professor here at Hogwarts, and your Head of House," he began after he took attendance.

"Charms is one of the most interesting branches of magic for one reason: it is the most versatile. Transfiguration and Potions are very strict, exact fields, and the magic you will learn in Defense Against the Dark Arts is more or less only for combat purposes. Charms, on the other hand, are completely different. You can have charms such as this one, the levitation charm" Flitwick said, giving his wand a swish and a flick. The podium in front of him levitated a few feet before gently being set down. "Or something like this," he said, holding his wand out. A flash of white, and a silvery-white raven flew out of his wand. It flew a single lap around the classroom before dissipating into smoke. The class was awed at the display.

"Charms are all about emotions and imagination. You have to _believe_ in your magic, _trust_ it, and finally _imagine_ what you need to make it work. We will first cover theory for a few classes, and then we shall be casting our first spells. Now, let us begin with wand movements…"

* * *

><p>Harry hated Defense Against the Dark Arts. The class was mostly theoretical, which made sense as they still were only first years. However, there was one fatal flaw: the teacher. Professor Quirrell was so nervous that he stuttered through everything he said, making it barely understandable. To make things worse, Harry developed a headache very often in that class. All in all, Harry hated that class.<p>

* * *

><p>The weekend after the first week of classes found Harry in the Ravenclaw common room, reading. He stared at the contents of his potions textbook, trying to puzzle together the meaning behind the words. It was, by far, the most difficult class for him to understand. It was not the fact that the instructions were difficult, no, Harry was able to follow the instructions with some difficulty. It was the fact that the instructions seemed almost whimsical to him. Why, exactly, was a silver knife better for use in some potions, but one made of steel better for others? Why did crushing beans versus cutting them make a difference? Questions like these he simply did not know, and could not find an answer for without asking an expert. Unfortunately for Harry's advancement in Potions, the only expert in the subject happened to loathe him for some unfathomable reason.<p>

"Hey Harry," said a voice. Harry looked up. It was Terry Boot.

"Hey," Harry replied.

"Do you want to play some Exploding Snap with us? Me, Michael and Anthony are playing and we have room for another," he said. Harry paused for a moment, and then nodded.

"I'd love to, but you'll have to teach me how to play," he said.

"No problem. It's actually very simple. You see…"

* * *

><p>Frustrating. That was probably what summed up the results of his search the best. There were no clues to go off of, no leads. For all Harry knew, Seiga was a normal human. Harry sighed, and closed the book before returning it to his shelf. If Seiga had any characteristic that separated her from a normal human, it was not something that was easily visible to him.<p>

"You seem frustrated," said a voice. Harry looked up. Su Li was standing there.

"I am. Why do you ask?" He replied.

"Just observing. What are you doing research on?"

"Someone close to me asked me to look something up for her. I don't really have leads," he said.

"Huh. Too bad," she replied, before turning to walk off. "By the way, you do remember we have a Herbology essay due tomorrow, right?"

Harry's eyes widened. He had forgotten, and hadn't started it at all. Muttering a quick curse under his breath, he quickly moved off to find some books on Herbology.

* * *

><p>"Potter! Watch where you're walking!" yelled one Draco Malfoy.<p>

"What?" was the articulate response Harry gave.

"I said watch where you put those feet of yours. You bumped into me," explained Malfoy. Harry frowned.

"I did not,"

"You did," retorted Malfoy.

"I understand you want some attention, Malfoy, but this is clearly the wrong way to go about getting it," said Harry. Malfoy turned a nasty shade of pink.

"That's the last straw Potter! Tonight, midnight, the Trophy room. We're dueling," he said, and then stalked off. Unfortunately for Malfoy, first thing tomorrow was Potions class, and Harry was not risking being late just to satisfy Malfoy's petty grudge.

Malfoy did not look happy the next morning.

* * *

><p>Harry didn't really like Halloween. It always felt rather wasteful in his opinion, but perhaps that was because he only knew the commercial, Muggle aspects of the festival. He did know that Halloween had some sort of magical significance and that was why there was a feast for the holiday, but unfortunately History of Magic seemed to be History of Goblin Wars instead. Harry found the class utterly useless. Additionally, Halloween was the day his parents died. While Harry didn't remember his parents, and as such didn't really feel their deaths as hard as he could have, he did however feel some sorrow at the loss of what could have been. As such, he was largely subdued during the feast. He more or less listened to the snippets of conversations<p>

"You did not attend Sir Nicholas's Deathday party this year?"

"No, I decided to spend time with my House this year. I'll be sure to attend next year, though. Rather important for him, that one."

"I can't believe Dumbledore lets Quirrell teach! That man can barely say a sentence!"

"Did you hear about what Ron did to Hermione? I heard that she's still sobbing in the bathroom!"

Harry's ears latched onto that last comment. While he could not say he was a friend of Hermione Granger, they were acquainted thanks to the train ride and occasional meetings in the library. He was debating leaving to at least see what was up and perhaps help her out when the doors burst open. Quirrell ran in, screaming. He ran up to the Staff table. Dumbledore had stood up, alert at the out of character behavior.

"Troll! Troll in the dungeons!" shouted Quirrel, before fainting. Pandemonium erupted. A voice cut through the chaos.

"SILENCE!"

Harry was startled at the power behind Dumbledore's voice. He could see why people held him in such high regard.

"Students will return to their dormitories escorted by prefects, with the exception of the Slytherins who will remain here. Staff members, we will go and deal with the troll," said Dumbledore. Harry's stomach dropped at the realization that Hermione wouldn't know. The prefects were nowhere nearby, and the staff members had already left. Harry then resolved himself. He knew what he had to do. The first opportunity he had, he slipped away from his House and went to look for Hermione.

It didn't take long before he found something. Unfortunately for Harry, it was the troll. It was bashing its club at a door, from behind which Harry could hear screaming. Hermione screaming. Instinct took over, and Harry reviewed what little spells he knew or read about. He knew a Troll's hide was thick and difficult to magic through, and had to adapt.

"HEY UGLY!" Harry shouted. The troll turned towards Harry. Harry cast a levitation charm at a rock and flung it at the troll. The ugly humanoid batted the rock away like a baseball, and then began to chase after Harry. Harry turned tail and ran. He needed to formulate a plan, and fast. The troll was vulnerable to physical damage. Harry, unfortunately, was not adept at much magic. He was limited to use of the levitation charm, as no other magic he knew would pierce through the troll's thick hide.

Harry's instincts screamed. Harry dove forwards, just in time to dodge what would have been a crushing blow from the club. The club smashed into the stone floor, creating a small crater and debris. A suit of armor nearby fell over. The troll was far faster than Harry, and thus his initial plan of luring it to the staircase and pushing it down failed, as Harry would never make it in time. Harry sprang to his feet quickly, and tried to cast a levitation charm on the club. Unfortunately for him, the troll's strength was too great, and its grip on the club did not loosen. The troll swung its club at Harry, and this time Harry was unable to dodge. It met his body with a solid _thwack_ and sent him flying into the wall. Harry felt his bones crack under the immense pressure. He coughed, and felt a warm, iron-tasting liquid in his mouth. Blood. The troll lumbered over to Harry.

_Is this how it ends?_ Harry thought. _I die here, alone, in a school, accomplishing nothing?_

_No._

_NO. _

_I DON'T WANT TO DIE_

_I REFUSE TO DIE_

Harry somehow managed to find a final reserve of strength. The troll began raising its club to deliver the final blow.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!" _Harry cried. His target this time was not the club, but something else: the sword from the suit of armor. He put all his force into the charm, and the sword shot at the hands of the troll. Just as the troll raised its club to its peak, the sword struck true, striking with enough force to sever fingers. The troll screamed and dropped its club. Harry, grasping at the last of his fading energy, cast one more charm.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

With no troll to resist the magic, the club rose, higher, higher, higher. Then, Harry swung his wand down, and the club followed. It struck with great force, hitting the perfect spot at the back of the troll's neck. There was a sharp crack, and the troll fell forward. Harry barely managed to roll out of the way in time, his entire body protesting the action with pain. Harry allowed himself a single smile of pride before he passed out.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**And this is the first part of first year. **

**So, I sat down and put some more detail in my outline of this story. And I realized something: I can't fucking wait until Year 4. And I think it showed in this chapter. It feels rather rushed in my opinion. I'll need to do something to make me more willing to write out these earlier chapters, as at the moment I view them more as necessary setup for the **_**real**_** fun stuff I want to write instead of something fun to write themselves. Either way, this chapter is basically for comparison with canon. Some things are the same, while others are rather different. This chapter also introduces some more background on how magic works from the HP side. I tried to keep things as close to canon as possible (Transfiguration **_**is **_**in fact governed by 5 variables, but I made some minor changes to them. Charms **_**is**_ **in fact the branch of magic where imagination is key, things like that). Some classes were not quite as detailed as others, unfortunately. **

**Speaking of magic, some people expressed concerns about the last chapter. One concern was regarding Seiga's magic being either too powerful or too similar to Patchouli's. There has not been a proper opportunity to show this yet, but I'll explain it here: HP magic is stronger and more versatile than Seiga's magic. However, Seiga has more experience using magic, and as such will make it seem otherwise. Also, while Seiga's magic seems similar to Patchouli's, Patchouli is capable of more (e.g. combining elements, using elements that Seiga cannot use, etc.) I do however, see some similarities. Rest assured, there are differences. **

**Also, there was some confusion on how I rate power levels. In case you don't remember, basically Stages are a good source of overall power level that I'm using. Dumbledore, Flamel, and Voldemort are roughly Stage 4, and you can base the rest of the HP universe off of that. There are, however, minor buffs to some HP characters who should not be as weak as they were in canon (e.g. Death Eaters who fought in a war losing to schoolchildren who weren't using any particularly amazing tactics). Additionally, this is only an indicator of **_**overall**_ **capabilities. There are certain conditions that can and will change how fights end out. Magical resistance is a good example. While someone like Youmu or Meiling, who uses less magic and more physical force could easily deal with something with high magic resistance but no physical defenses, someone like Alice or Patchouli, who are highly magic-based in their combat will have greater difficulty even if they are considered stronger in overall level.**

**Also, I mentioned in the AN last time that Marisa's magic was love-powered. I was mistaken, and a reader thankfully called me out on it. It isn't particularly important as part of the story line and thus doesn't really merit me editing the chapter, but I do want to remind you that I am **_**not**_ **a godly writer and I will make mistakes, so please call me out on them so I can fix them.**

**I'd appreciate feedback on this chapter, although I personally have many qualms about its quality. Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

When Seiga began her day on November First, 1991 she was in a fairly good mood. It had been a considerable amount of time since her theft from Gringotts, and there were no wizards knocking at her door demanding to take her in for questioning, nor were there any Goblins out to execute her. Yoshika was having a good day and was remembering more than usual. The weather was pleasant, and the leaves were painted beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow. Indeed, Seiga Kaku was in a good mood.

When Seiga's day was interrupted by a tawny owl holding a letter in its mouth, her mood didn't falter in the slightest. When she took the envelope and saw it was addressed to one _Seiga Kaku, Number 3 Privet Drive_, her mood still remained untouched. When she opened it and read the contents, her good mood disappeared as quickly as alcohol in front of a thirsty Oni.

_Dear Ms. Kaku_

_We at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry must inform you, as the closest thing Harry Potter has to a magical guardian at this point in time, that Harry Potter, your neighbor, was seriously wounded last night in an altercation with a mountain troll. He will recover without any lasting injury, but should you wish to see him personally, there is a portkey enchantment on this letter. Merely state 'To Hogwarts' and you will be transported to the gates, where one Rubeus Hagrid will escort you to see him._

_Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw House_

To say Seiga was displeased was to say that Gensokyo was a little bit strange. Seiga shot up instantly and prepared herself to enter Hogwarts, and then muttered the password. Seiga suddenly felt a hook-like sensation behind her navel. She barely had time to register it before her world exploded into a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes. It took a few seconds before she landed in front of a large, metal grate. Seiga stood up, tucked the letter into a pocket of the black Wizarding robes she decided to wear for this outing. She did not have to wait long before the tall, ominous gates opened. She caught sight of a familiar, large man. Hagrid.

"Righ' this way. Se ough' ter see Harry soon, he's sleepin' in the Hospital wing right now," he said. Seiga nodded and the duo briskly made their way into the castle. Seiga took careful note of the surroundings, as she, despite her centuries of experience, had never been in a magical school quite like Hogwarts before and was more than slightly interested in everything about it. The outside was nothing particularly amazing, aside from the large lake in front of the castle. She did not know what exactly she saw there, but she saw some sort of massive creature inside the dark waters.

Once she entered the castle, however, she was more than slightly surprised. During her time in Gensokyo, Seiga had been sure to visit most of the major locations she could think of. She visited places like the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the Moriya Shrine, and the Tengu's village. All of them paled in comparison to the sheer _magic_ behind Hogwarts. While she had never been to Makai, Seiga felt that Hogwarts was the closest she could get to the level of ambient magic in the air around her.

"Are you comin' or not? We shouldn' take too long ter see 'im" said Hagrid. Seiga mentally shook herself.

"Of course. I was just surprised for a moment. Let us be off," she said. The two then made their way through the halls of Hogwarts and went to the Hospital Wing. It was completely empty save for two people. Seiga quickly saw Harry. She made sure to note the woman waving a wand at Harry and patiently waited for her to finish her wand work before moving closer.

"Excuse me, what happened to Harry?" she asked, her tone betraying none of her emotions. The other woman looked at Seiga, then cast a glance to Hagrid.

"She's his neighbor. Closes' thing he's got to someone who can take care o' the magical stuff in his life," Hagrid said in explanation. The woman – Poppy Pomfrey, the healer of Hogwarts, took her job very seriously. She would not senselessly give details on any of her patients without a good reason to trust the one she was giving the information to.

"I don't know the entire story but I can tell you that he his ribcage was entirely shattered. If that wasn't all, most of his organs in his chest and stomach area were damaged in some way, and many of them had shards of his bone piercing him. This was after he had already been brought to me, so it might have actually been worse. If Professor Snape – the one who found him – hadn't administered some immediate medical care once he found him, Harry would be dead," said the witch. Seiga frowned.

"How, exactly, did Harry get injured to this extent in a _school_ of all things?" she asked.

"I believe I can answer that question," called an aged voice. Seiga turned, and saw an old man with a long white beard wearing robes that resembled a night sky. Upon the man's crooked nose lay a pair of half-moon spectacles. Seiga knew enough to recognize this man: Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster. Seiga wasn't sure if he came down because the incident was that serious or if he did this to all of his students who were wounded severely.

"Please, by all means, explain. I was under the impression that Hogwarts was a rather safe place," said Seiga.

"Indeed, however even the safest of places may have momentary lapses in security. Gringotts was a good example of this. I assure you this will not happen again," said Dumbledore. Seiga acknowledged the comment with a nod.

"What, exactly, happened? All I know is that Harry is injured and it was involved with a mountain troll," said Seiga.

"Somehow a mountain troll slipped into the school. This was brought to the attention of both the students and staff during dinner yesterday. We had the students go to the dorms for their safety. Unfortunately, Harry realized that one particular student, one Hermione Granger, was absent and thus knew nothing about the feast. The prefects and teachers were not immediately accessible to him, as we had all left to deal with the troll, so he took it upon himself to find the girl. We thought that the troll was in the dungeons, and Miss Granger was far away from them, so Harry likely believed that there wasn't too much danger. Unfortunately, the troll was not, in fact, in the dungeons but rather in the same location as Miss Granger. Harry, in an act of courage, confronted the troll and slew it. Unfortunately, he was hit by the troll in the process, accounting for his injuries. Shortly afterwards he was found by Professor Snape, who administered some emergency medical attention, and then he was brought here. Madam Pomfrey here administered treatment over the course of the night, and his injuries have been healed," explained Dumbledore. Seiga's face was blank, her body motionless as she took in every detail about the encounter.

"I see," was all the Hermit said in response.

"Harry has already recovered physically, and should be up soon. He will, however, remain under observation before we give him the clear to return to classes to ensure there are no lasting effects," said Pomfrey. Seiga nodded. Shortly afterwards, Dumbledore and Hagrid left. Pomfrey returned to her office, as Harry did not need to be under 24/7 surveillance at this point and she needed some rest. She had been up for a long time treating Harry.

It was not long before Harry woke. He felt groggy for a moment, but that passed quickly. He looked around, unfamiliar with the surroundings, before he noticed a blue blur next to him. Reaching over for his glasses, he put them on carefully before realizing that Seiga was next to him. _Seiga? What is she doing here? _thought Harry. He then realized that she looked very unhappy. Then everything came back to him. He remembered the troll, and, more importantly, he remembered being hit.

"_What_, exactly, should I say here?" Seiga said to him. Harry swallowed, a knot forming in his stomach. He did not say anything, he could not. "You did one of the _stupidest_, most _asinine_ things ever!" she exclaimed.

"But Hermione-"

"But Hermione nothing! Hermione is not the one in the Hospital Wing now, is she?" asked Seiga, her voice scolding. Harry looked down, ashamed.

"Not only that, but why would you even think of doing what you did? I heard from Dumbledore what happened. You shouldn't have engaged the troll without having a plan!"

"I had a plan!"

"Oh really? How well did that work out for you, then, Harry?"

"Fine! I'm alive, the Hermione is alive, and the troll is gone!"

"_No._ If Professor Snape had not found you when he did, you would have died. Both Dumbledore and the Matron agree," said Seiga. Harry was shocked. He did not know this.

"What?"

"Your injuries were so severe that you would not have survived the trip to the Hospital Wing if not for some emergency healing Professor Snape did on the spot. As it is, you had practically no rib cage and your organs were almost all damaged," said Seiga. Harry was shocked. He had come so close to dying, so easily. Not only that, he was saved by a man that he was sure absolutely _loathed_ him. It was too much for an eleven year old boy.

"I am leaving now, as you are, despite all that happened, fine. I will tell you this, though, Harry: I am very, _very_, disappointed in you today. You can play hero all you want, but at least make sure you're strong enough to pay the consequences," said Seiga. Seiga was shrewd, she instantly knew _exactly_ what to do to further her cause. She wanted Harry to be strong, and she knew how much he hated disappointing her, so she played on it. Harry would now take getting stronger very, _very_ seriously. Her work done, she stood up and left the room.

_I almost died_.

That was the sentence that ran around Harry's mind. Most young children were far, far removed from the concept of death. The fact that Harry had come so close frightened him. It frightened him a lot. Not only that, Seiga was disappointed in him. The one, single thing that Harry wanted to avoid most in this entire life had just happened.

_What if she hates me?_

_What if she stops talking to me?_

Worry plagued the eleven year old boy's mind.

_What do I do? Did I do the wrong thing?_

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by a door opening and closing. Harry looked up, and saw a familiar head of bushy brown hair. Hermione Granger nervously made his way to him.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she said back. There was an awkward silence. "I just wanted to thank you, for what you did there. If it weren't for you, I'd be the one in bed right now," she said. Harry said nothing, and just listened. "Ron was just so _mean_ and I was so hurt, and I was only trying to help, and then the troll came and started banging on the door. And then you were hurt but I couldn't do anything and Professor Snape came and even though he looked like something bit his leg he healed you and – sorry, I'm rambling," she said, her eyes starting to show the watery signs of tears.

Harry just sat there. Then he opened his mouth. "Hermione," he began.

"Yes?" she asked quietly.

"Thanks."

It was the start of a friendship.

* * *

><p>Immediately after he was released from the Hospital early in the morning on Sunday, Harry made a beeline towards the library. Hermione had cemented his choice. He wouldn't not help people, he simply couldn't stand by and let people get hurt. However, his brush with death taught him something: he needed to be strong enough to do the right thing. Right and Wrong were important, but they were nothing without the strength and conviction to back them up. Harry immediately took some later year Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms textbooks, and dutifully copied down the notes it had on several offensive spells, even if he had no clue how to cast them. <em>Expelliarmus<em>, the Disarming Charm, which would forcibly remove an object from the target's hands. _Impedimentia,_ the Impediment Jinx, which would stop a target for a handful of seconds. _Depulso_, a Banishing Charm, _Diffindo_, a Severing Charm, _Stupefy, _and many others. It took him a total of four hours to write everything down. Harry didn't expect to be able to cast more than a couple before next year, but he at least had notes that would last him a long time. Once he finished, he quietly returned the books and left to find an empty classroom. He found one on the second floor of the castle.

"Ok Harry," he said to himself. "Let's start with something simple," he said. He took out his notes for _Diffindo_. Spells like _Expelliarmus _and _Impedimentia_ required him to have targets suited for them, which he didn't have yet. Spells like _Diffindo_, however, would work even on something like blank parchment, which he had plenty of with him. Harry looked down and read his notes on the Charm.

_The Severing Charm, incantation Diffindo (pronounced dih-FIN-doh) is a charm used to cut or rip or otherwise split an object in two. As a charm, it has huge variance in capability, and as such can range from a huge, rough cut to cuts so precise you can barely tell they are there. This makes the spell simple to learn, but difficult to master, and potentially fatal if your wand is pointed wrong and the intensity too great._

Harry swallowed. He briefly wondered if he was getting in over his head, but then steeled his resolve. He needed to be strong so a repeat of the troll incident would never happen again. If he had known this spell earlier – if he had known any of the spells he took notes on earlier, he might not have nearly…

Harry returned his attention to his notes.

_The charm was created in the 1400's by a witch by the name of Defina Crimp. She created it to have a reliable method of tailoring clothes with magic, as most cutting spells created at that time were apt to damage their targets. The wand motion for Diffindo is a sharp flick down and to the right, then a sharp flick up and to the right, forming a V shape. Following that, the remaining wand motion is to follow where you wish for the target to be cut. The amount of force the spell puts out varies directly with how well you imagine the cuts, as well as how much concentration you put in. The concentration, instead of like in Transfiguration purely increasing the power of the spell, instead decreases the range of power the spell puts out, and as such the Severing Charm should be concentrated on regardless of how serious you wish the cuts to be if you are going for precision._

Harry put down his notes, then removed a roll of parchment from his bag. He spread it out onto the floor, and pointed his wand at it.

"All right. _Diffindo!_"

* * *

><p>"Harry, what are you studying for now? We aren't taking Care of Magical Creatures until 3rd year, and even then you could pick a different subject entirely" asked Hermione. Hermione loved books and knowledge, but she knew well enough that there was far too much information in the world and it had to be prioritized. She felt that studying ahead in classes they were taking right now would be ideal, especially since Harry struggled with Potions.<p>

"Doing a favor for someone. Not school-related," said Harry.

"Are you still going on about that? It's been forever," said a voice. Hermione and Harry looked up and saw Su Li.

"Yeah. I didn't make much progress," said Harry.

"Huh. You need help?" asked the female Ravenclaw. Harry hesitated. It was _his _job to find it out, _his_ challenge from Seiga. He then realized that thinking like that would get him nowhere. He had made no progress at all despite spending a large amount of time on the subject.

"Sure, I guess," he said. "Problem is, I don't have leads," said Harry.

"Fine. I'll help you out if you get a lead," said Su. "On one condition, though. Remember that place on the 3rd floor we can't go to?"

"Yes," said Harry. Hermione nodded, a disapproving look on her face.

"I hope you aren't intending to go there," said the Gryffindor reproachfully.

"No, no. I did hear, however, that a three-headed dog was there. I'm kinda curious, so if you help me out about that, I'll help you out with your problem," said Su. Harry nodded. He remembered that Hagrid was a gamekeeper, and while he didn't know exactly what it did, Harry knew he didn't have anything to do with games like Quidditch and that another meaning for 'game' involved animals. He hadn't spoken to Hagrid that much since coming to Hogwarts because Harry spent so much time studying, but it he did pop down to Hagrid's hut every now and then on the weekends.

Harry had learned to value his friends after nearly dying. He didn't know when something would happen to him or them.

"Are you free this afternoon?" he asked. The two girls nodded.

"Cool. We're going to see Hagrid," he said.

* * *

><p>"Here yeh go," Hagrid said, handing each of the three cups of tea. He poured himself a cup in an oversized mug.<p>

"Thanks Hagrid. Have you met Hermione and Su?" asked Harry.

"I met Hermione after tha' nasty business with the, y'know. I haven't met yer other friend 'ere. Me name's Rubeus Hagrid, nice ter met yeh," he said.

"Nice to meet you too, Hagrid," said Su.

"Everything's been all right with you then, Hagrid? I'm sorry I haven't visited much, but I'm spending a lot of time studying," said Harry. Su nodded.

"I'm fairly certain he lives in the library. Not that the rest of us Ravenclaws don't, but we at least bring the books with us to our dorm. Harry just sits there all day," she said.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Hermione said. She spent just as much time as Harry in the library, possibly more.

"No problem, Harry. Yer mum used teh be th' same way. She was a genius at Charms and Potions, she was. Flitwick and Slughorn, he taught Potions before Professor Snape, loved her," said Hagrid. Harry smiled, happy at learning more about one of his parents.

"Really? Harry here's pants at Potions. Snape doesn't seem to like him either," said Su.

"Well Snape and Harry's dad didn' really get along yeh see. Hated each other at firs' sight. James an' his friends used to go outta their way teh fight wih Snape, and he did the same," said Hagrid. Harry's eyes widened. He had no idea about this, and it explained a lot about the Professor's seemingly pointless hatred of him.

"He still saved my life, though," said Harry quietly.

"Despite wha' happened in the past, Snape's a good man. Yer dad was one too, Harry. Everyone's human, they all have their problems," said Hagrid. A heavy silence fell over the room at the giant's words. Hermione wiggled, uncomfortable.

"Say Hagrid, did you know that there is a three-headed dog in the castle?" she asked.

"Wha? How did yeh find out abou' Fluffy?"

"Fluffy? Is that his name?" asked Su. Hagrid nodded.

"He's mine, y'see. Raised him since he was a pup, I did," said Hagrid proudly.

"You must love him a lot. Why is he cooped up in a castle then? From my research, most large doglike animals want a large amount of space," asked Harry. Hagrid shook his head. He knew Harry was knowledgeable about various magical creatures, but Hagrid's knowledge outstripped Harry's by a huge amount.

"Fluffy don' need nothin' like that. He's a hellhound yeh see, they jus' need something to guard if they don't have open space," said Hagrid.

"What's he guarding then?" asked Su. Suddenly, Hagrid's eyes widened.

"Er, I shouldn'ta told yeh lot that. Nothing importan," he said hurriedly.

"You can trust us, Hagrid. What's he guarding," asked Su again.

"No. What Fluffy's guardin' is noone's business but Dumbledore and Flamel," he said. "It's getting late, yeh lot should head back." The Hermione and Su nodded, and left with Harry. They did not notice how pale Harry had gotten until long after they had left he hut. He knew what Fluffy was guarding – how could he not. Seiga had made sure to drill various myths and legends into his head, and he knew exactly what Flamel was known for.

"Harry? What's wrong?" asked Hermione.

"You don't know? Flamel is famous, incredibly so. In fact, he's one of a handful of wizards to be so famous even Muggles know about him," said Harry. Su looked confused, but Hermione caught on.

"You can't mean to say-"

"Nicholas Flamel is known both in the Muggle and Wizarding world for his greatest achievement. He achieved immortality through use of the Elixir of Life, which he created from a single, small object. The Philosopher's Stone," said Harry.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong>

**Next chapter. I think this one is of significantly higher quality than the last. I spent some time on the aftermath of the troll which is rather different. If you all are wondering about why Seiga was contacted, well, it's become common knowledge thanks to Hagrid among the teachers who need to know that Seiga is a guardian of sorts to Harry. Flitwick is fair, so I felt it only natural that he would contact her if Harry was injured as severely as he was by the troll. When Ginny went MIA, her parents were contacted and came to Hogwarts after all. **

**I think only Muggles parents don't come because unless I'm mistaken, Hogwarts can't be seen for what it is by Muggles, meaning that there'd be no point in coming. **

**And then, some events important for character development. Changes or not, this **_**is still Harry Potter**_**. He **_**still**_** is brave and loyal, he **_**still**_** will save people. The troll incident, and hopefully this aftermath cements that. Harry here felt he had two options: Go about his life without doing anything too risky, as he did, or become strong enough to back up his heroism. He chose the latter. **

**However, this Harry has actually acknowledged that he almost died, and is actually afraid of it. This fear is now a driving factor in his character.**

**On brighter news: Hermione! Yay! Hagrid! Yay! Question: is his accent fine? I mentioned last time he appeared that I can't do his accent, but I tried my best and hopefully it passes…**

**Another concern that has come up is dates. Hopefully this chapter made it clear in the beginning, but in case it didn't, I'll explain it now. The events of the Touhou Project happened significantly earlier than in their canon to account for the crossover. For further clarification, Seiga left Gensokyo approximately 1 year after the conclusion of the incident in Impossible Spell Card in this fanfiction. **

**OK, hopefully this chapter is much better than the last one. Feedback is, as always, appreciated.**


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